Protector
by WorldsApartx
Summary: Rose Swan moves to Forks to live with her cousin, Bella, after her mother dies. But it seems like she's not the only one in need of a protector, when she learns the truth about the Cullens and Jacob Black .... *Set during New Moon... story better*
1. Wolves

_This is my new story. There's some Bella/Jacob , but there's more Bella/Edward mush._

_And there's Jacob/OC mush._

_Enjoy... and review.. or the story stops._

_Oh, and Happy NEW MOON DAY! I'm going to see it tomorrow and I cannot wait; I've been hyper about seeing it since going to the New Moon UK Fan Party, haha!_

_Rose Swan is based on Lucy Hale's looks. I've edited a photo to how she actually looks; http:// i810. photobucket. com/ albums/ zz25/teamswitzerland /rubyswan. jpg_

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I looked in the mirror. I was hardly myself anymore. The recently-sixteen Rose Swan was long gone. In her place, was a zombie.

My emerald green eyes had lost their shine. My auburn hair fell flat and dull.

My chest ached like a thousand knives had stabbed me, the blades twisting and cutting out my heart.

My mother, was gone.

She'd died in the car-crash that had given me seven stitches to fix the cut on my arm. Compared to her, I had lost nothing. She had lost _everything. _

There was no light to break up the dark.

"Rosie, I'm sorry." My Uncle Charlie apologised as he picked me up from the airport.

We'd been in the car for ten minutes now, and not a single word had been exchanged. Then again, there was nothing to say. He'd lost his sister, and I'd lost my mother.

My father? Well, he disappeared out of the picture before I was born. That made the stabbing feeling worse. All I had left was my Uncle Charlie and my cousin Bella.

A tear slipped down my cheek as I watched the rain drops drip down the window of Charlie's police cruiser.

This time last week, everything had been fine.

And now, I was in Forks, where everything from the still green trees, to the stormy weather matched my mood. Great, just great.

Charlie sighed, staring out the front of the car.

I had to try and be happier, for his sake. Last time he'd called mom, Bella had been in pieces, because her boyfriend had moved away. He didn't need two zombies for company.

"Does it always rain?" I asked, trying to make conversation. My voice was hoarse and my throat throbbed from days of crying.

Charlie half-smiled. "Yeah, pretty much, especially at this time of year."

I was used to sunny weather in February, but apparently Forks, Washington, was not.

We passed the sign into the town, and I watched as the houses passed by. It was quite a small town, and it did have some character; it certainly wasn't a newly-developed housing estate like I had lived in back home... back in Arizona.

We pulled into the driveway and I took a deep breath as I looked at my new home.

"It's pretty cosy." Charlie said, trying to laugh, but I could tell he was as hurt as I was.

I stepped out of the cruiser, closing the door as I slung my two rucksacks over my shoulder.

Charlie pulled my two suitcases out of the trunk and unlocked the front door. "Bells, honey, could you give us a hand out here?"

My cousin walked out of the house and smiled politely at me. "Rosie, I am so sorry. If you need to talk..."

"I'll let you know." I half-smiled.

Bella nodded and lifted one of my suitcases, stumbling as she pulled it inside. She seemed a little perkier then when Charlie had last called us.

"Seen Jacob today, Bells?" Charlie asked as we headed towards the stairs.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Do you remember Jacob Black, Rosie?"

"Yeah." I smiled. "Didn't we used to hang out with him at the beach when we were younger?"

Bella's eyes shone at the memory. "Yeah, those were the days. We haven't done that since I was ten, and you were eight."

"This place hasn't changed since my last visit." I said as we all struggled up the stairs with my belongings.

"No, it hasn't." Charlie agreed as we reached the top.

We walked into the bedroom next to the toilet. I remembered that Bella's bedroom was on the other side of the guest bedroom.

I smiled as we walked inside; the walls were lilac and the carpet was grey. A few fairylights were strung over the black iron bed frame. The bed was next to the window, and had a closet opposite. In the corner was a small desk and a black armchair.

"It's not amazing, but it's hard to tell what you kids like." Charlie said, placing my suitcase on the floor.

"It's great Charlie, thank you." I nodded at him.

"Do you need help unpacking?" Bella asked, placing down my other suitcase, tripping as she did so.

I shook my head. "I'll be okay thanks."

"Okay, I'll start on dinner. Is six okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

Charlie and Bella left me alone in my new bedroom.

I opened a suitcase and began to unpack. I sighed when I came across a photo of my me and my mother. I placed it on the bedside table, running my fingers over her face.

Tears shone in my eyes, but I held them back. I needed to be strong. Mom wouldn't want to see me like this, and it wouldn't do Bella or Charlie any good.

I pulled out a large photo frame, which held a painting of a wolf; my mom had always been superstitious and believed that wolves were protectors.

I placed it on the empty nail on the wall, before hanging my dreamcatcher next to the window. I then pulled out the wolf soft toy my mother had bought me when I was a baby. I placed it on my new bed with a sigh.

Anything that protected me from the pain, was worth it.

That evening, Bella cooked me stew for dinner. Afterwards, the three of us sat in front of the TV and watched some documentary about wildlife in Washington; to be honest, I was hardly watching. I was staring at the screen, not taking any information in.

"I think I'm going to go to bed." Bella said, standing up.

I stood up too. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired too."

"Okay, girls, well you know where I am if you need me." Charlie smiled, worry filling his eyes.

Bella and I each kissed his forehead before retiring up the stairs.

I laid on my bed, staring into space. Sleep wasn't coming, how ever much I wanted it. I crept over to my bookshelf, looking at the books Bella had given me.

One book stood out to me. _Quileute legends. _Mom had spoken of them before, and I knew that they were Quileutes in La Push.

I pulled out the book and returned to my bed, opening it and beginning to read.

I was a quarter of the way through the book when the screaming started. I jumped up and ran into Bella's bedroom.

She sat up on the bed panting, tears dripping down her cheeks. I was amazed Charlie was still snoring down the hall.

"Bells, are you okay?" I asked, sitting myself beside her. "Forget that, it was a stupid question."

She laughed, softly. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

I shook my head. "I couldn't sleep. Did you have a nightmare?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I've been having similar ones for months now."

"Since he left?"

She sighed. "Yeah."

I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her. "Everything's gonna be okay. It's his loss."

"But it's not." She whispered, pulling away. "It's _my_ loss. He's taken my heart away with him."

"I know how you feel." I replied, looking down. "Losing someone hurts like hell."

"I'm sorry, Rose. I'm sitting here moaning because my boyfriend ran off, and you've lost your mother."

"It's fine." I bit back my tears and looked up. "I know that everything's gonna be alright because there's got to be a light at the end of the tunnel, right?"

She nodded. "Right."

I yawned. "I think I'd better turn in."

Bella nodded, her lips curving into half a smile.

I walked back to my room and stared at the dreamcatcher hanging from my window. I hardly ever had nightmares, and it looked like Bella was going to need it more than me.

I took it down and returned to her room, hanging it above her window. She was already sound asleep, her tears drying on her cheeks.

I carefully closed her bedroom door and returned to my room.

I knew for Bella and Charlie's sake that I was going to have to get through this.....


	2. Bears

_Here's an update._

_  
Remember to review. I've got more story-alerts than reviews.. A review takes like 5 secs to do, seriously! And without them, the story stops with my motivation!_

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The next morning, I was woken by the sunlight pouring through my blinds. I sighed and sat up, remembering I now lived in Forks.

It was 11am on Sunday morning, and surprisingly, the sky was clear of clouds.

I threw my zip-through hoody on over my tank top and headed downstairs, not caring that I was in my pyjamas.

"Morning." I said, walking into the kitchen.

My cheeks turned crimson when I realised we had company.

A huge (height-wise and muscle-wise) boy with long, black hair and russet skin stood in kitchen, next to Bella.

"Did you sleep okay?" Bella asked with a smile as I sat down at the table, hiding my embarassment behind my auburn curls.

I nodded. "Um.. yeah. Did you?"

"Much better, thanks."

I looked over at the boy, who was grinning widely at me. Was the sight of me in my pyjamas _that_ funny?

"Oh, right, Rosie, you remember Jake, right?" Bella nodded at the boy.

Of course I remembered Jacob Black.. just when did he get so big? And so cute...

"Yeah, hi Jake." I smiled, my blush deepening. "Um, I think I should go and get dressed..."

I heard Jacob laugh as I disappeared back up the stairs.

He definitely wasn't the eight-year-old boy I remembered playing with on the beach all those years ago.

* * *

I walked downstairs, dressed fairly decent this time. I was wearing my jeans, a pale pink v-neck jumper and my brown-hoody, which was lined with fake fur. I'd left my hair in almost-dry curls, and put on a little bit of mascara and eye-shadow, so that I didn't look completely sleep-deprived.

"How's she coping?" I heard Jacob ask as I reached the living room.

"She seems to be better than I am." Bella sighed. "It makes me feel bad."

"Yeah.. I don't get why this _bloodsucker_ is tearing you up so much." He paused for a second. "Bella, I didn't mean it like that..."

I walked into the kitchen to see Bella's eyes filled with tears.

I hurried over and gave her a hug before Jacob could. "Hey, Bells, it's gonna be okay. Be strong, remember?"

She nodded and took a deep breath, wiping away her tears. She half-smiled at me as she pulled away.

Jacob stood, awkwardly, his hands in his jean pockets.

"So," Bella said, walking back towards the oven, "who's hungry?"

I'd never seen a boy eat as much as Jacob Black. It was completely insane.

"You gonna finish that?" He asked me, staring at my last piece of toast.

I shook my head and pushed the plate towards him. "It's all yours, big boy."

Bella and I laughed as we watched him gobble down the toast slice.

"I can't believe he's sixteen!" I whispered to Bella. "He's huge!"

"I know." Bella looked at him, concerned. "All the boys on the reservation are... it's weird."

Jacob's warm brown eyes met mine with confusion. He obviously knew we were talking about him. "May I help you ladies?"

We both shook our heads.

"Okay..." He eyeballed us. "So, what are we going to do today?"

I shrugged. "Whatever is cool with me."

"Why don't we head to the beach... like old times?"

* * *

Bella led the way along the sand, without a word. Jacob and I followed, a few paces behind her.

"So, how have things been since I last saw you?" He asked, a smile playing with his lips.

"They've been okay.. got through school, and high school was okay, I guess." I shrugged. "What about you?"

"Things have been pretty good, though I fell out with Embry."

"Oh?" I remembered Embry and Quil, Jacob's friends, sometimes hanging out with us at the beach.

"Yeah, he's been a bit weird recently." His face fell. "He's started hanging out with Sam Uley, and now they both stare at me strangeley, like they're waiting for something to happen."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's kinda weird."

"Sam was fine when he rescued Bella that night." Jacob frowned, confused.

"People change." I replied, looking up at my cousin.

Jacob followed my vision. "I wish she'd talk about it."

"Me too." I sighed. "She had a nightmare last night, and I was hoping she'd explain it, but she bottled it up and went back to sleep."

"I _hate_ him." Jacob hissed. "I warned her, but she's too stubborn to listen."

I put my cold hands in my pockets. "Us Swan girls are pretty stubborn."

"But, I bet you'd never fall for one of _them_."

I stared at him confused, as Bella stopped and turned round to face us. "You guys are slow."

"Sorry, just catching up." I half-smiled, still confused by what Jacob meant.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"School." Jacob stated, his eyes still filled with anger. He faked a smile. "It looks like it's clouding over. We should head back to the truck."

Bella drove back through La Push, stopping outside Jacob's house.

"Thanks, Bells." He smiled, giving Bella a hug.

He stepped out of the car and walked over to my car door. He opened it and embraced me in a bear hug, before pulling away with a smile. "See you soon, Rosie."

"Bye, Jake." Bella and I chorused as he closed the door and we pulled away.

Bella looked at me in her mirror. "Rose, are you blushing?"

"No." I shook my head, going a deeper shade of red.

Bella smiled the first genuine smile I'd seen in twenty-four hours. "Sure."

When we got home, we both started making dinner for Charlie.

"Hey girls." He smiled, as he walked in.

"How was fishing?" Bella asked, as she chopped onions.

"It was okay." He replied. "Didn't catch anything today, but then, we think it's because there have been some bear sightings."

I looked up at him. "I didn't know you had bears here."

"We don't usually... especially as big as they've been described. In fact, I've never heard of bears so big. You two stay out of the woods, okay?"

We both nodded, before returning to cooking dinner.

_Big bears? _How big was he talking?


	3. Blind

_Here's another update, cos I'm SO GOOD to you._

_But, you won't get another update until i get at least __**five more reviews**__ .. yes, like Bella Swan, I am being stubborn and putting my foot down._

_Oh, and I saw New Moon last night.. amazing! I have fallen in love all over again.. and I am leaning towards Team Jacob and his puppy dog face!_

_And I know someone mentionned that Jacob didn't know about the vampires until he phased, but this is close to him phasing and his superstitions are growing.. plus, I'm not entirely following Stephanie Meyer, here._

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Bella's truck pulled into an empty space at Fork's High School.

I jumped out and shut the door, staring at my new school. Heads whipped round and stared at me. Of course, they would stare at the newbie.

I looked over at my older cousin, realising she was staring at an empty parking space.

It was obvious that was where _he_ used to park.

"Come on Bells, you gotta show me reception." I half-smiled, linking my arm with hers.

She nodded and led me inside.

"Name, please." The receptionist said, looking up at me.

"Rose Swan." I replied, with a smile, ignoring the butterflies that were fluttering around my stomach.

"Here's your schedule and a school map." She handed me some papers. "Have a good day."

"Thanks." I turned to face Bella. "Could you just point me in the direction of my homeroom?"

"Sure." She led me down the corridor. "It's this room here. See you in the canteen at break?"

I nodded. "Okay, bye Bells."

"Take care, Rosie."

I walked into my homeroom and, again, heads shot around to face me. I could feel a blush creeping into my cheeks.

"Hello, are you Miss Swan?" The teacher smiled, standing up.

I nodded, figuring that this was Mrs Smith, my form teacher.

"Well, Rose, why don't you tell us about yourself."

I bit my lip and turned to face the twenty-something students staring at me. "Er... I'm Rosie... I've just moved from Arizona... I play guitar and write music."

Mrs Smith smiled. "Thank you, Rose, if you could just take that seat there."

I sat down in the empty chair near the back, watching the eyes follow me.

"So, you're Chief Swan's niece, right?" A girl next to me with blonde hair smiled.

I nodded. "Um.. yeah."

"Awesome." She held out her hand. "I'm Maria."

"Nice to meet you."

"Can I see your schedule?"

"Sure." I handed it over to her.

She scanned through it and smiled, handing it back to me. "You're in all my classes."

"Oh cool." I nodded. "At least there's one friendly face... I mean, everyone else just stares at me."

"Well, when Bella joined last year, everyone was the same... she seemed, different. Then she dated a Cullen, which no one has _ever_ done before. No one even spoke to them... so I guess, they're just expecting you to do something drastic too." She whispered.

I laughed. "Like what? Date a footballer."

Maria laughed, softly. "Come on, let's get to bio."

* * *

"How's your day going?" Bella asked me as I walked into the canteen at break.

I smiled. "It's been okay."

"So have you made any friends?"

I nodded. "One at the moment... everyone seems a little... scared of me."

Bella laughed. "I had that when I came here."

At lunch, I sat with Maria and her friends; Jenny, Alex, Chad and Jack.

"So, I bet the weather's better than this in Arizona!" Chad laughed, nodding towards the window.

I smiled. "Yeah, it is.. this really isn't good tanning weather."

"So guys, " Maria smiled, "why don't we head to the beach this weekend?"

"Surfs up!" Jack grinned.

"Yeah, that would be cool." Jenny smiled.

"And freezing." My eyes widened. "You have stepped outside today, right?!"

Chad nodded. "Sure the water is cold, but it's not too bad. And that's why we have blankets and hot chocolate for afters!"

"Scared, Swan?" Jack raised an eyebrow at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, I'm in, but if I get ill, I'm dragging you down with me!"

The bell rang as I finished my apple.

"Ugh, time for gym." Maria groaned as we stood up and left the cafeteria.

To be honest, I wasn't too bothered about gym. I'd been pretty good at gymnastics, and I'd learnt karate too.

I changed into the school navy shorts and pale blue t-shirt and made my way into the gym with Maria.

"Mr Ball is ill today, so the boys are joining our lesson." Our teacher announced.

All the girls groaned and folded their arms.

"Great, now they have to see us in our sucky uniform!" Maria groaned.

"Oh, is there someone you wanted to impress?" I teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Chad, duh! That's the only reason I'm agreeing to go to La Push this weekend... I wanna prove I can rock the waves!"

I laughed. "Well, I'm sure you'll do that."

"Can you surf?"

"Er.. I've been.. once." I replied, looking down at the floor as the boys came in.

Our teacher cleared her throat. "Boys on that court, girls on this one. I trust you to split yourselves in half."

I walked to the side of the court to join Maria.

"Do I look okay?" She bit her lip.

I smiled and nodded. "Yes. Don't worry about it."

The volleyball came my way, so I hit it across the net as hard as I could.

I widened my eyes, surprising myself with the amount of force I had hit it with.

Well, if it was going to get me an A, I wasn't worried...

* * *

"So, what are you two up to tomorrow?" Jacob asked us on Friday afternoon.

Bella was making dinner. "I'm going to Port Angeles with Jessica."

"And I am going surfing."

Jacob pouted. "Ditched by both Swan girls.. I feel insulted."

Bella turned to face me. "Did you just say you're going surfing?!"

I nodded. "Yeah, me and my friends are gonna head down to La Push."

"You're crazy... you know its February, right?"

Jacob laughed. "It's not too cold surfing at this time of the year. The sea's mild because of all the storms."

Bella's eyes widened. "Storms?! Charlie will have a heart-attack!"

"Then I won't go in the sea." I rolled my eyes.

"You haven't really known this people very long...."

Jacob smirked. "If you're that bothered, _I _will hover about and keep an eye on her. I can head down there with Quil and Embry."

"Thanks, Jake." Bella smiled and I rolled my eyes.

* * *

The next day, Maria drove us all down the beach in her minivan. They'd packed three boards into the van, as well as a large supply of hot chocolate, and a big pile of blankets.

"The weather's not too bad today." Maria said, as we pulled into a parking space.

I nodded in agreement. "You can actually see the sky!"

We all climbed out of the minivan, and pulled out the boards.

I wrapped my fleece sweater tighter around my wetsuit; it was really quite cold.

"Okay, me, Maria and Rosie are out first." Chad announced.

I bit my lip.

"It's not that rough, so you'll be fine." Maria whispered.

My heart raced as we carried the boards out onto the sand, running towards the beach.

"You okay with this, Rosie?" Chad asked as we reached the sea.

I nodded and turned around; the others sat by the minivan, blankets and hot drinks at the ready. Then I spotted three tall boys with long black hair and russet skin walking towards us.

"Hey, Jake." I waved.

"Rosie, you're actually going in?" His eyes widened.

I nodded. "I'll be fine. If you hadn't noticed, I'm a little more coordinated than Bella."

"You coming, Rose?" Maria called; she was already pretty far into the sea.

I nodded and walked in, shuddering at the coldness of the water.

We pushed out the boards, and climbed onto them, lying on our fronts.

"Paddle!" Chad yelled at both of us.

We paddled as the wave came, and then very carefully stood up.

My knees shook a little, with nerves, as I stood up, but once I realised I was stable, I rode the waves without a care. My arms were spread either side of me, helping me keep my balance.

On the sand, Jacob looked pretty impressed, and one of his other friends was gawping at me, making me laugh.

"That's it, girls!" Chad shouted.

"Wooo!" I cheered, happy with myself.

Maria fell off her board, next to me, and I jumped off mine, swimming towards her.

"Ugh, major fail." Maria pouted as she surfaced.

I laughed. "God, it's freezing!"

"You girls okay?" Chad asked, appearing beside us.

We both nodded, and we all headed back onto dry land.

"Wow, that was pretty impressive." Jacob smiled as we headed back towards the minivan.

I blushed. "Thanks, Jake.

"Oh, this is Quil and Embry." He signalled to the friends beside him.

"Is this your girlfriend, Jake?" Embry asked, eyeballing me.

He shook his head. "She's my friend, and she's a girl."

I laughed. "Yeah, his friend."

Maria pulled me into the minivan, slamming the door shut. She threw me my towel.

"Who is that guy out there? He's huge!"

"My friend, Jacob Black." I replied, turning away from her to get changed; thank goodness there were no windows in the back of the van.

"_Friend?" _

"Yes, friend!" I stated, sticking my tongue out, before realising we were both facing opposite directions.

"That explains the blush and huge grin." Maria replied, sarcastically.

"Are you changed yet?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I am gonna kick your ass!"

She jumped out of the minivan and ran off. I zipped up my jeans, grabbed a hair tie and jumped out after her.

"Fiesty, ladies." Jack winked as we passed him.

I stopped running and rolled my eyes, tying my wet hair into a ponytail.

I walked over to Jacob. "Where are Quil and Embry?"

"They headed home." He replied.

"Did I bore them?"

"Quite the opposite actually." He laughed a little. "Embry wants your number."

I raised my eyebrows. "Embry really isn't my type."

"So what is?"

"Someone I actually know, is funny, cute, makes me smile, I guess." I shrugged.

I looked over and noticed Maria grinning widely at me. She stuck her tongue out at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay." Jacob replied with a smile.

I shivered as a gust of wind hit me and the sun was covered with a cloud. "I know this weather wouldn't last."

I wrapped my arms around myself.

Jacob put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. "Is that better?"

I nodded. "Thanks, Jake."

"Dude, you're blind." Maria whispered in my ear as she passed us.

I wasn't.. was I?

* * *

_An update in at least five reviews!_

_Love you readers!_


	4. Vampires

_Another update for y'all... You can say it's short, but hey, at least I updated! Heheee._

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"Hey, it's Bella, is Jake there?"

"Hi, it's Rosie, is Jake there?"

"Is Jake feeling better yet?"

"Is he home yet?"

"How is Jake doing?"

"Can I come over?"

It was March now, and we hadn't seen or heard from Jacob Black in two weeks.

I sighed and walked into Bella's room. She wasn't back from work yet. On her bed lay a notebook, which was open on the middle page.

_Edward Cullen had ice cold skin, his eyes changed colour and he never went out in the sunlight._

_I didn't care what he was. I was falling in love with him._

I raised an eyebrow and thought of what Jacob had said on the beach....

_"I hate him." Jacob hissed. "I warned her, but she's too stubborn to listen."_

_I put my cold hands in my pockets. "Us Swan girls are pretty stubborn."_

_"But, I bet you'd never fall for one of them."_

... What exactly had Jacob meant when he said '_them_.'

I thought about it for a moment and then the phrase 'the cold ones' came to mind.

I hurried back into my room and picked up the 'Quileute legends' book. I scanned through the book, stopping on the chapter titled 'Enemy.'

_"The cold ones were pale-faced with ice-cold skin. They never go out in the sunlight, in case they reveal their true identities. Cold-ones are unnaturally beautiful, helping to lure in their pray, so that they are able to drink their blood..."_

I gulped and slammed the book shut. _Vampires. _Vampires were real?!

If they were real, which other 'fairytale' characters were?

"Hey, Rose, I'm home!" Bella called, coming up the stairs.

I bit my lip, feeling sick.

"I'm up here." I replied, still in shock.

I heard Bella stumble into my doorway. "Are you okay?"

I turned around and looked at her, my eyes wide with horror. "You.. you dated a _vampire_?!"

Her eyes also widened. "What are you talking about?"

"I've read it in the books Bella... Edward was a vampire, wasn't he?"

She stared at me. "I er... I.."

"Bella, I know. I read it in the book, and you're a terrible liar."

She looked down. "He was, but you cannot tell _anyone._"

"What about Charlie?! Does he know?! And Jake?!"

She shook her head, her eyes softening. "No one knows. Rose, please keep this secret."

I shuddered. "No one would believe me anyway... eurgh, Bells, how could you do that? They're like...dead."

"I know."

I shuddered again; did she sleep with him. "Oh my god, did you-"

"No. I only kissed him." She replied, cutting me off, a little flustered. She clutched her chest. "Look, I've got work, so I'll see you later."

I nodded. "Sorry I brought him up, I was just-"

"Freaked out, I know, it's understandable." She half-smiled and left the room.

I stared out of my window. If this was true, how many other fairytales were more than a myth?

* * *

That afternoon, I went on a walk in the woods, before heading back home.

I froze in the path when a man with dark-skin, black dreadlocks and blood-red eyes appeared.

He smiled, wickedly at me. "Hello, are you Bella's friend?"

I shook my head. "I'm her cousin."

"Oh." He replied, edging closer to me. "Is Bella home?"

"She's.. out." I replied, knowing she wouldn't want to be bothered at work.

His smile widened and his eyes closed as he inhaled the air, deeply. He moved closer to me, and immediately I felt cold. "Well, I am thirsty."

That's when my eyes widened in horror. "Vampire." I gasped.

He ran his hand across my cheek. "Aren't you a clever girl? And you smell simply... mouthwatering... just like your cousin."

My heart raced and my breathing quickened. This could _not_ be happening.

I lunged at him with a punch, but he dodged it, throwing me backwards onto the sidewalk.

I winced as my head cracked against the concrete. _Crap._

I felt my head, groaning when I realised I was bleeding.

Bleeding in front of a blood-thirsty vampire. _Smooth._

The vampire's nostrils flared and he grinned once again. "Humans cannot out-smart me."

I shook with fear, wincing as blood poured out of my head. My vision was worsening thanks to the head wound.

He leant towards me, leaning over me, licking his lips.

A tear rolled down my cheek and I prayed Bella and Charlie would be safe of this vampire.

At least I would soon be with my mom...

A wolf appeared from no where; if you could call it a wolf. It was bigger than a bear, with russet skin, and amber-coloured eyes.

It tackled the vampire to the ground and let out a howl.

Something screamed.

Was that me?

No, it was the vampire. The vampire was screaming? But, it was only an abnormal-sized wolf...

I tried to sit up, but I couldn't. I was too weak and the metallic smell of blood was making me dizzy.

Then a head flew past me. My stomach churned and I shuddered, trying to ignore the vampire's head that was just a few metres away from me.

My eyes started to close, but I forced them open.

"Rose, don't pass out. You cannot die. You've got to look after Bella and Charlie." I whispered to myself, but my body was too stubborn.

My vision spun around me, like the world was rotating and lightspeed.

I let out a choked-scream as the wolf hurried over to me.

It's amber eyes met mine; they were filled with sorrow and hurt.

Was the wolf going to kill me next?

I took a deep breath.

And then everything went dark....

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_Five reviews for an update? Maybe? Please!_

_Much love xxxxx_


	5. Heartbreak

_I feel terrible for lacking updates. I have too many stories, as I have too many ideas swimming around my head..._

_If you wanna chat, follow me on twitter; __**fallingdanger**__ , of course!_

_And. HAPPY NEW YEAR... thought this chapter would get your 2010 rolling.. this is gonna be my year._

_Resolution: Go to London and harass some record labels, hopefully getting signed for my songs! And date Taylor Lautner as he's now single- well he does know i exist, haha!_

_You got any resolutions?_

_Oh, and I realised I made a mistake here so had to quickly change it. Sorry all!_

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"I feel terrible!"

"You should, Bells! You just threw yourself off a flippin' cliff and Charlie's already freaking out about Rose being in here and because Harry Clearwater's died of a heartattack!"

"You told me you'd take me cliffdiving!"

"Yes, but things came up and I'm glad they did or Rose would be dead right now."

"How was I supposed to know that when I jumped off the cliff!"

I winced. My head throbbed and listening to an argument was hardly helping. I slowly opened my eyes to a clean, white room which smelt of antisceptic.

"Rose!" Jake gasped, rushing to my side.

"This is all my fault." Bella frowned, rushing to the other side of my bed.

"No.." I managed to choke out, my voice hoarse.

"She's awake!" Charlie smiled, walking into the room. "Thank goodness. I can't believe you've been living with us five minutes and I've already messed up."

_He _had messed up? Was this vampire-thing a dream? And what about the wolf? There was pain in his eyes and I remembered Harry had been a dear friend of his.

Bella's eyes widened, as if she was warning me about something. She turned to Charlie. "She slipped over, Charlie. It wasn't your fault."

"I knew I should've put grit on the sidewalk." He frowned. "First Harry, now this."

I noticed Jacob studied my facial expression. "Charlie, if you wanna go back to work, we'll take care of her."

"Thank you." Charlie faked a smil. "And thanks for saving her life." He turned to face me. "You lost a lot of blood. Lucky Jake has the same blood group as you."

My mouth dropped open. He had donated blood to save me?!

Jacob shrugged. "It was nothing."

"Well, if there's a problem, just call." Charlie left the room, looking down at the floor.

I looked at my cousin and friend and frowned. "Okay, what happened?!"

"Er..." Bella stuttered nervously, looking out of the window.

"Look, I know getting nearly eaten by a vampire wasn't a dream, so care to explain?!"

"They don't eat humans. Only drink their blood." She muttered, still avoiding eye contact.

"Did you know they exist?!" I asked Jacob.

He nodded, slowly, his eyes meeting mine. "Yeah, I did."

Then my eyes widened. "And the wolf..." I looked into my friend's eyes. "He had your eyes."

"Oh."

Bella turned to face me, as if waiting for me to realise something. "Rose..."

"Oh my god!" I shrieked, jumping up.

"Rose, lay down, you're sick, remember?" Jacob pushed me backwards.

"You're a werewolf!"

"Shhh." He whispered. "You cannot tell anyone."

"What kind of a town is _this?_" I whispered, horrified. Suddenly, all the dark, evil fairytales were coming true and I wasn't safe.

"It's perfectly safe." He stated. "The pack are protectors.. we protect from those filthy bloodsuckers."

"They're not all like that!" Bella cried out, before clutching her chest in pain.

"Why are you protecting them?!" I gasped. "One tried to kill me!"

"Laurent wasn't a vegetarian."

"Vegetarian vampires! How the hell does that work?!" I could feel myself shaking, with anger and fear. It scared me; ripples were shooting down my body.

"They only drink animal blood, not humans." She replied.

Bella clutched her chest in agony again, and Jacob reached out to her. She pulled away from him.

This was great. Just great. Meanwhile, I was having uncontrollable shakes.

Jacob reached out to touch me. His warm skin pressed against mine and he gasped. "No."

"What?" Bella rushed over.

"She's really hot.. and she's shaking."

"What have you done?!"

I took a deep breath, and bit my lip. Then everything seemed back to normal. I no longer felt hot, and I wasn't shaking.

"Woah." Jacob's eyes widened.

"Did... did.. you make me a _wolf?"_ I whispered, my stomach turning. This was not good. At all. I wanted to go home, and by home, I meant back to Arizona.

"I don't know." He replied, his eyes filled with worry. "But if I did, I've never seen someone so controlled."

"I guess us Swan girls are different." Bella mumbled, before yawning.

A doctor walked in and smiled at me, brushing her long black hair out of her face. "Oh, you're awake Rose."

I nodded. "Apparently so."

"Well, you seem to be back to normal. I think you're ready to go home."

"Already?"

"You've been in twenty-four hours and all your tests have shown a very quick improvement. Just keep your bandage on until tomorrow and rest this weekend." She walked over and took the drip out of my arm. I flinched.

"Thanks Mrs Ateara." Jacob smiled as she left.

"Oh, she's Quil's mom." Bella pointed out. "I did think letting Rose leave so soon seemed a bit crazy."

"Well have you felt her forehead? She should be dead. I had to get a Quileute to look at her or the doctors were bound to start asking questions."

"You talk as if I'm not here." I frowned, getting up.

"Sorry, Rose." They chorused.

I put on the coat and zipped it up, over my pyjamas; I really saw no point in getting dressed.

Bella drove us back to the house in the orange chevy truck.

"You coming in, Jake?" She asked as we walked up the path.

He shook his head. "I've gotta go see Sam."

She nodded in understanding. "Thanks for...helping me."

He frowned. "Well don't do anything stupid till I come back, okay? I don't think I will be able to concentrate if I think you're jumping off cliffs behind my back."

"I'll keep an eye on her." I told him, still wondering why Bella had done it. Was she stupid? With her straight As, I hadn't thought so until now.

"What you're going to do is rest." He told me, his voice sounding fierce. He ran off into the woods, leaving Bella and I stood with confused looks on our faces.

* * *

I stayed on the sofa, relaxing, and occassionally falling asleep. I couldn't help but have nightmares though.

Vampires chasing me, wolves turning on me. Were witches out there too? And what about magic? Did that exist?

How safe was this world? All this time, my biggest worry had been rejection or having my heart broken, or failing a test.. or my mom.

Part of me was glad my mom was gone now. She was safe, in heaven, away from this drama. I was not. And was this fate worse than death?

I hadn't decided yet.

And what if....? What if I became a werewolf? What would happen then? To Charlie? To Bella? To Jacob..

I mentally slapped myself. Everytime I thought of him, my heart skipped a beat, which wasn't so good, to be honest. If I kept this up, I was going to be dead. Dead and heartbroken.

How.. emo. I knew he didn't feel the same. I had only been here a month and I had already seen the way he looked at Bella. She was his earth. He was my sun.

I groaned and opened my eyes. It was morning. The sun was pouring through the curtains in the living room.

I screamed when I spotted a petite brunette with spikey, pixie hair sitting opposite me.

"I didn't mean to scare you." She whispered, though her voice sounded like a harmony.

"Am I dead?" I replied, looking at her. I was pretty sure I looked a state right now, dead or not, and that made me feel terrible. She looked like a beautiful, mythical pixie.

Were pixies real too?

She laughed. "No, you're very much alive. You heart is fluttering like a hummingbird."

Then the sweet, familiar stench hit me. Vampire. "BELLA!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, jumping up, a little more agily than I was used to.

Bella raced down the stairs, tripping down the last few. The vampire reached out and grabbed her.

"Get off her!" I shrieked.

"Rose, relax! It's only Alice!" Bella stopped me from lunging at the bloodsucker.

"Who? And what the hell is she doing in our house?"

"I heard what happened with Laurent, Rose. I am sorry you were put in that position." Alice frowned.

"Ha, it's your fault that Bella and I have been in this position!" I hissed.

She sighed. "I know. We never should have left. Clearly Bella cannot control her actions without us Cullens around."

"Cullen?" Where did that sound familiar. Oh, right. "You're Edward's sister."

"Practically." She shrugged. "And you are Rose Swan, Bella's cousin."

I nodded. "I've helped her with the nightmares since _he_ left."

"It wasn't his best idea, I'll admit it. But he's been in pieces too." Alice enhaled through her nose and frowned. "You have a visitor. I'm going to go."

"Alice, please, you're both my friends, so you can both stay." Bella said, reaching out to the vampire pixie.

"I need to hunt anyway."

"Come back later?"

Alice nodded, before leaving through the backdoor. The frontdoor opened and Jacob stepped in.

"I wanted to check you weren't dead." He said, coldly.

Excusing myself from the argument that I was sure was about to begin, I walked upstairs and had a shower.

I put on my denim jeans and pink-striped polo shirt and looked in the mirror. I was glowing... I had a tan... from living in rainy Forks? No way.

It wasn't a huge tan, but I was pretty sure that if I stood next to Bella, she'd be several skin tones paler than me.

My stomach growled, interrupting my thoughts, so I headed downstairs to get some food.

I paused outside the kitchen, when I heard voices.

"Bells, he hurt you. I would _never_ do that."

I peeked through the doorframe, my eyes widening at the sight.

Jacob had pushed Bella against the kitchen counter, their bodies pressed together.

He whispered something I couldn't catch and their faces leaned towards each other.

Tears brimmed over in my eyes and then the phone rang. I jumped out of my skin at the sound of ringing.

I watched as Jacob reached for the phone, looking annoyed. "Hello." He glared at a spot on the wall. "No.. Charlie's not here.. no.. he's at the funeral." He hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Bella asked, seeming breathless.

"Carlisle." He responded, coldly. "He wanted to talk to Charlie."

A gasped as the familiar pixie, known as Alice, appeared beside me.

"Where is she?" She whispered, panic in her eyes.

I pointed to the kitchen, wiping away my tears.

She sped past me into the kitchen.

"Alice... what's wrong?" Bella immediately noticed the distress.

"Edward thinks your dead." She stated, coldly. "He's gone to the Volturi. He wants to die too."

The look on Bella's face was excruciating. She looked like she had just been stabbed in the heart, and as if she had, she clutched her chest, tightly, her eyes brimming over with tears.

"What?!"

"We need to go to Italy, Bella. We need to save him."

Alice didn't need to ask twice, as Bella had already stumbled up the stairs to pack.

I stood there as everything moved in slow motion. Alice was trying to find Bella's passport and Jacob stood there, shaking with anger.

I looked at him, my eyes soft, hoping to calm him down, but I didn't succeed. He let out a low growl, continuing to shake.

Bella came down the stairs with a rucksack over her shoulder.

"I've got your passport. I'll be in the car." Alice said, speeding out of the room.

Now everything was back in normal motion.

Bella's cheeks were already stained with tears. "Look after Charlie, and tell him I'm sorry, but had to go to LA to stop Edward doing something stupid."

"Who are the Volturi?"

"Like vampire police." She sniffed. I noticed a small glint of hope in her eye and realised she still loved him. "I'm sorry Rose."

She hugged me, before disappearing out of the door.

I followed her slowly, my body in auto. Was she really going to go after some vampire and run into some others?

"Bella, please don't get killed." I whispered.

Jacob stormed past me and grabbed Bella's hand, swinging her around to face him. "Bella please. Stay here for Charlie. For Rose. For... me."

I saw the pain in his eyes and my heart sank. I felt that pain because he was out of my reach. He felt that pain because he knew all too well who Bella was going to choose.

"I have to Jake." She replied, storming past him and climbing into the car.

"Bella, _please."_

But it was too late.

The girl he loved was in a car speeding down the street and out of sight.

I stood and watched as the boy I had grown up with, and had grown so close to, ran into the woods, leaving only a trainer and some tattered trousers behind.


	6. The Mark

_Aww poor Rose. Well theres more Jose fluff in this chapter as, well, Bella is in Italy..._

_Short, but it's late. And well, I will update when I have more time.. plus the last chapter was mucho long anyway!_

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"Is Bella at Jake's house?" Charlie asked as he came home from work to find me curled up on the sofa, staring into space with a book in my hand; I knew I was going to have to cover my terrible mood for my Uncle's sake.

I shook my head, hating that I had to lie. "She's in... LA."

"WHAT?!" His face went red and he gritted his teeth.

"I don't know what's happening." I lied. "Alice came over and said Edward was having a serious breakdown, and she freaked out and they went to LA to talk him out of something stupid."

"But he broke her!" Charlie hissed.

"I know." I dropped my head, feeling a little broken myself. "I tried to stop her, so did Jake. It... it didn't work."

"Grrrr." Charlie growled, clearly pissed. "I'm going to see Billy."

"Okay." I replied. "You want any dinner?"

"I'll eat there." He slammed the door and left the house.

I sighed. Love sucked. The feeling, the word, everything.

What sucked even more?

I felt really hot right now, like I was on fire.

I didn't want to call him, but I was scared.

"Jake?" I whispered into the reciever.

"Mmm." He mumbled. "What's up, Rose?"

"I'm hot, Jake. Really hot. I'm pretty sure I should be dead."

"I... I'll be right there." He hung up on me.

I bit my lip and walked upstairs to change into my denim shorts.

It cooled me down a little. I looked into the mirror.

I still looked tanned and my eyes had darkened, but only slightly.

Then I felt a scratch on my lower back. I lifted up my shirt and gasped.

What the hell was that tattoo doing there?! And why did it look just like Jake's tattoo?!

I jumped as a half-naked Jacob jumped through the window. _Why_ was he doing this to me?

My heart sped up, and I sighed to slow it down a little.

Jacob Black was going to be the death of me.

I watched as he studied my body. He gasped when his eyes moved over the tattoo. "Oh."

"That wasn't there earlier!" I frowned, looking at it. Sure it was cool, but I did not want a tattoo.

Jacob looked at his arm and then at my back. "That's weird.. all the tribe have theirs on their arm like me.."

"So I am becoming a werewolf?!" I gasped, horrified. I didn't want this. I hated it.

"I'm sorry I did this to you." He whispered, his face full of hurt. It reminded me of his face from earlier today, when Bella had driven off.

"Jake, it's not your fault. You did it to save me. Anything has to be better than death." I whispered the reply, walking over to him.

He hugged me and I felt like I'd broken into a million pieces. I wanted to stay here forever. If only I could read his mind.

_"I love the way she holds me."_

I jumped backwards. Okay, Jake's mouth definitely didn't move there.

"_Did I scare her? Ugh, I better take her to Sam's."_

Again, his mouth wasn't moving.

Oh, shit. So now I can read minds? Fantastic. Just fucking fantastic. I let go of Jake and frowned.

"I think we need to go see Sam." He told me, his eyes full of concern.

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll leave a note for Charlie."

From the corner of my eye, I could see him watching me.

But I couldn't read his mind. I tried to read his face. Nothing.

Well that was... weird.

I sighed, feeling hotter again. "Let's go."

I reached for Bella's car keys, but Jake moved me away from the counter.

"What?" I frowned.

"We're running."

"No way. I'm not that fit."

"Just humour me, would you?" He ran outside.

I grabbed the house keys and ran out after him.

Holy crap, I was fast.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus." I gasped, catching up with him.

Jacob laughed softly, but there was still pain in his eyes. "Have you noticed anything else?"

I read your mind earlier. You said you liked the way I held you. "No. Just this, the heat and the mark."

"Hmmmmm."

I quite liked running with Jacob. Everything felt so natural. Apart from the hurt in his eyes.

But I loved the feel of the wind whipping through my auburn hair as we raced through the forest.

We reached a small house in a clearing and Jacob stopped.

I skidded to a stop beside him.

A tall man with russet skin and short, spikey black hair stepped out of the house, followed by a few others, who looked younger. They must've been my age, only they looked so much older with their muscles.

I noticed the marks on their arms and figured they were the tribe.

How was I going to fit into a tribe of mainly men who were bigger than bodybuilders? Ugh.

"I knew you were coming." The oldest man said. "Hello Rose, I am Sam."

"Hi." I half-smiled, a little nervous to be around a load of topless men, who were all pretty good looking. Nothing compared to my Jacob, though.

I noticed one of the boys staring at me, checking me out, causing Jacob to growl.

I wasn't _his _property, so what was the problem.

"This is pretty interesting. I've never heard of a female member of the tribe." Sam said. "Are you sure it's not just a fever?"

I turned away from him and lifted my t-shirt. I heard the gasps as they looked at my mark and turned back.

"Fever! If she was this hot, she'd be dead, Sam!" Jacob frowned.

"I never knew that by just giving blood, this could happen." Sam looked at me cautiously. "Anything over than the heat and the mark?"

"I ran all the way over here at Jacob's speed." I said. "Though I probably could run faster if I'd tried."

One of the boys sniggered and Jacob growled again.

"Anything else?"

I took a deep breath. I had to say something. "Erm.. I heard Jacob's thoughts."

From beside me, his eyes bulged out of his head. "WHAT?!"

"What were they?" Sam said, clearly interested.

"That he needed to bring me here." I stated, simply.

"How do we know she's not lying?" The third largest boy said, folding his muscular arms.

"Rose, can you read his thoughts now?" Sam asked.

I focused on Jacob. "No. Nothing."

"Hmmmm."

"Wait." I reached out and touched Jacob's arm. "I was touching him before."

"Okay."

I looked deep into Jacob's eyes, trying my best to concentrate.

"_Don't think anything stupid, don't think anything stupid. Wait, this isn't possible, wolves can't do this."_

I laughed softly, before repeating. "Don't think anything stupid. Wait, this isn't possible. Wolves can't do this."

Jacob's eyes widened. "Huh.. what?!"

"Is that true, Jacob?" Sam asked. Jacob nodded. "Well, this is odd. But, I guess we have a female member of the pack."

There were wolf whistles and I blushed as Jacob growled, again.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered. "This is no fate."

"Though, Rose, I suggest you try to phase whenever you can so we can work things out for you." Sam continued.

I nodded. How was I supposed to phrase?

"Jacob will help you." He added.

I turned to look at my friend who still looked horrified.

Maybe he regretted saving my life...


	7. Consequences

_Update time, baby!_

_I'm really into this story right now, and you guys have been awesome for the reviews! Keep it up! And tell your friends!_

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"Jake, I can't do this." I frowned after two hours of trying to phase. "And I'm _really_ hungry!"

"I don't understand." He folded his arms, creasing his eyebrows. "You've been angry and sad and happy, but nothing is working!"

"Maybe I'm only part-wolf." I shrugged. "And you said I had good control, so what if I can't phase until I'm ready? Like I'm about to fight or something?"

"I don't know, but you're not going anywhere near a fight until you've phased."

"But I'm still super-fast!"

"Look Rose, I've lost Bella already. I don't want to lose you either." His eyes softened and he looked away. "You'd better head home. Charlie will be back soon."

I sighed and made my way home.

I perched myself on my bed and grabbed my guitar.

"_And I dont know how much I can keep  
Letting you unravel me  
Cause the more you learn the more we share  
We were worlds apart and you see  
It was so much easier to be  
Cause now I know what we cant have and its so unfair._"

I looked up to see Charlie in the doorway. I put down my guitar. "Oh, uh, hi Charlie."

He half-smiled. "Have a good day, Rose?"

I shrugged. "Was okay."

"Good." He paused. "Is Bella home, yet?"

I shook my head. "No, Charlie, sorry. I'm sure she'll be back soon." I wasn't sure. I was pretty sure she wouldn't come back and I'd be picking up the pieces, but who knew what would happen- apart from 'Alice' of course.

"Okay. You goin' to school tomorrow?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling myself again."

"Okay, well don't be late and be careful." I listened as he walked down the hallway to his bedroom and closed the door.

I sighed and looked in the mirror, remembering I still had a bandaid on my forehead.

I carefully took it off, but there was nothing.

Wasn't there meant to be a cut and some stitches? And a pretty big one at that....

I ran my hand over it. Nothing. I frowned and covered the spot with my hair, so that Charlie wasn't suspicious.

Then I curled up in bed for an early night's sleep, ignoring the events that had occured that day.

* * *

I woke up the next morning feeling like hell. I didn't feel hot anymore. In fact, I was walking around my bedroom in shorts and a t-shirt when I realised it was still spring and normal people in Forks did not dress like this at this time of year.

I put on my jeans, teal-coloured cami and a black cardigan, grabbed my bag and headed out of the front door.

As Bella was missing for the second day running, it looked like I was driving the truck to school this Monday morning.

Maria was waiting for me in the parking lot, looking concerned, with Jenny and Chad at her side.

I parked the truck near to them and jumped out, locking it as they walked over to me.

Maria pulled me into a hug. "Thank god you're okay!"

"Huh?" I replied, confused as she pulled away.

"Your fall. The whole town was talking about it!" Jenny explained, seeming excited about the gossip.

"Oh.. right." I laughed softly. "How embarassing."

"Well it's good you're okay." Maria smiled. "Charlie told my mom that Jacob had to give you some of his blood."

I shuddered. "Yeah..."

"Are you dating yet?" Jenny grinned.

I frowned. "No."

"But he likes you!" Maria threw her hands in the air, nearly hitting Chad.

"I'm gonna leave you girls..." He muttered, walking off to join his male friends.

"He doesn't." I replied as we walked towards the school, ignoring the people looking at me. "He likes someone else."

"No way!" They chorused.

"Yeah way." I mumbled.

A blonde boy ran straight into me. "Oh, er, sorry... wait, you're Bella's cousin right?"

I nodded. "Yeah..."

"I'm Mike Newton, Bella's friend. Any idea where she is?"

"She's away.. with Edward."

His face fell. "Oh.. er.. okay."

"She'll be back soon." I told myself, more than him.

He nodded and walked off.

"Wow, your cousin is loved by everyone!" Jenny said as we walked to Maths.

"Tell me about it."

* * *

"When did you get a tattoo?!" Maria gasped as we changed for gym.

I cursed in my head, remembering the mark on my back, which was currently on show to the entire locker room as I changed for Dance.

"Oh, the other day.." I replied, trying to think of a good excuse, but failing.

"Is that even legal?" Jenny asked, walking over to join us.

"Wow, it's so cool!" Maria chimed, admiring it.

I blushed as my class all admired the tattoo on my back.

"Where did you get it done?" A girl asked.

"Er.. Port Angeles." I lied.

"Awesome! My sister got hers done there." Another said with a smile.

"Is it a wolf?" Someone else said.

I nodded. "It's a Quileute symbol for protection."

"Wow." Several girls said in awe.

"What's going on here?!" Lena, the 'Queen Bee' of our cheer said, breaking through the crowd.

I quickly threw on my baby blue gym shirt.

"Nothing." Maria said with a smile.

"Right..." She glared at us. "Ms Cambridge said to hurry your asses up!"

I pulled my auburn hair into a loose ponytail and hurried out of the gym with Maria and Jenny.

"She thinks she's so cool 'cause she's a cheerleader." Maria hissed as Lena performed her solo routine.

"Well she's more popular than us..." Jenny sighed.

"I don't want to be popular! I want a school where no one fights to be 'it,' whatever that is."

She finished with a bang and her clones applauding, making the rest of our class join in.

"Fantastic!" Ms Cambridge praised, clapping her hands together. "Rose Swan, you're up next."

Oh joy, just what I want.

"You know, if your head still hurts..." Lena mocked.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine, trust me."

I sighed, standing in front of my fellow students. Sure I felt fine, but if I passed out... well Charlie was going to kill me and Jacob would probably freak out.

The music started and I danced around the space. Maria smiled, encouragingly, but I frowned realising everyone else looked a little bored.

So I flipped. Literally. I flipped backwards three times, using my hands for a millisecond to keep me going.

Everyone gasped, clearly impressed.

I returned to my routine, throwing my hands in the air as I did a high-kick.

Then I did a split-jump before making my way into my ending position.

Lena's mouth dropped. That ought to teach her.

* * *

"In gym today, you were amazing!" Jenny gushed as we walked to the parking lot at the end of the day.

I smiled. "Thanks, you guys were great too."

"I can't believe you just improvised." Maria smiled. "Way to show Lena who's boss!"

"I really don't want to be boss.. I just wanted to show her there are people just as good as she is."

"Well she looks pretty pissed."

I looked up and realised Lena was walking towards me, her blonde groupies, Brooke and Amy, close behind her.

"Fan-bloody-tastic." I muttered under my breath.

"You were great in gym today, Rosie!" Brooke squealed.

"Quiet, Brookie." Amy whispered.

Brookie? What are they? Like five or something?

"Yeah, well played Swan." Lena half-smiled. Swan? Were we suddenly on surname basis? That sucked as I really didn't know hers...

"Er... thanks, I think." I replied.

She thrusted a large see-through clothing my hand.

"What's this?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you blind or something?" Lena rolled her eyes. "It's a cheerleading uniform. You made the squad."

"I didn't audition." I tried to give it back to her but she backed away.

"Well Ms Cambridge put you on the squad, not me." She shrugged. "But slip up even just a little, and you're out.. come on girls."

She stalked off towards her pink Beatle.

"Rehearsals are Tuesdays, last period." 'Brookie' whispered at me before hurrying after her 'boss.'

"Wow, you're a cheerleader!" Maria cracked up.

I held back the uniform and looked at the navy dress, outlined with yellow, with "Forks Spartans" across it.

"You're so lucky! I wish I could make the squad." Jenny sighed.

Maria and I both turned to her. "Really?!"

"Yeah, then the football team would know me.. and well, everyone."

"Ah, I knew the guys had something to do with it." Maria giggled.

"Maybe I should ditch practice." I sighed.

"No!" Jenny and Maria chorused.

"Er, why?"

"You could take down Lena!" Maria told me.

"And," Jenny added, "You could be the best damn thing that the school has ever seen!"

"Apart from the Cullens." Maria reminded her.

I sighed. "Yes, well let's not talk about _them._ I'm not sure about this."

"Then let him convince you."

I looked in the direction Maria was nodding and spotted Jacob leant against the truck, his arms folded.

"Oh boy.." I sighed.

"You're blushing!" Jenny giggled. "But he is _so_ hot!"

I let out a growl and Maria laughed. "Oh, honey, go get him!"

They waved at me as I hurried towards the truck.

"Hey." Jacob half-smiled, moving away from the truck as I reached him.

"Is Bella-"

"No." He frowned. "Nothing yet."

"Oh." I shifted, uncomfortably. "Er.. you coming back to mine?"

He nodded. "Yeah, 'kay." He snatched my keys at lightning speed. "But I'm driving."

Maria winked at me as I climbed into the passenger seat, throwing my cheerleading costume and rucksack in the back.

"So..."

"Sam wanted me to check up on you." He explained. "We're both worried as to why you haven't phased."

"I dunno." I shrugged. "But I've had more than enough attention today."

"Yeah.." His eyes looked up to the mirror, at my cheerleading costume. "You're a _cheerleader_?"

"As of today, apparently." I mumbled as we pulled onto the road. "I got a little carried away in my dance lesson."

He laughed. "Really? Did you throw pom-poms at someone?"

I punched him in the arm and he laughed again. "No.. I did some backflips... I've never done them before, it's creepy."

"Yeah, that's a wolf thing. Agility, power, strength."

"And no fear apparently."

He smiled. "I dunno, there's still teenage things to worry about."

"That are worse than being a wolf?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "So, when's the game?"

"Huh?"

"Well you have to cheer at a game..."

"Oh right.. well I dunno. I don't even know if I want to be a cheerleader."

"What about the male attention?"

"Boys from Forks high? Ew." I stuck out my tongue and he laughed.

"Well cheerleading can't be all that bad.. didn't you used to dance when you were a kid?"

"I guess.. I always wanted to be a cheerleader back then."

"So try it out? I'm sure you'll be captain in no time."

"Thanks Jake."

"No problem." He smiled. "But I'm gonna have to drag Embry along to the game.. wait till he hears you're a cheerleader."

"Jake you really don't have to come." I frowned. I'd rather spend less time with him if he was gonna accidentally play with my heart like this. It felt like I was about to have a heart attack or something.

"It'll be fun.. especially when Embry hits on your cheerleading friends!"

"And what about you?" I asked as we pulled into the driveway.

"Nah, blondes aren't my type."

_---------------xx-------------------------xx------------------_

_Lyrics: Unfair- Kate Voegele (the one and only!)_


	8. She Wolf

_So it's been a while. I suck, I know._

_I got a bit stuck..._

_-----------------------------xx-----------------------------------------xx-------------------------------------_

"2,4,6,8 who do we appreciate?" Maria sang as we walked towards the gym at the end of the day.

"Funny!" I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Let me know how it goes." She winked and disappeared out of the door and into the car-park.

I sighed and walked into the girl's locker room. I threw on my black leggings and a pale yellow over-sized "Fork Spartans" tee, which i had cut around the collar, so that it was now an off-the-shoulder number; I didn't want to be a lemming.

"You're one minute late!" Lena called as I hurried into the gymnasium.

I sighed. "Sorry."

"You're gonna be!" She frowned, folding her arms. "Two laps of the gym. Pronto."

I rolled my eyes, and started running, my feet not making a sound as they hit the shiny wooden floor. I looked at the squad stretching as I ran; wow Jacob really wasn't going to be able to hit on any of them. They were all platinum blonde. Oh, except for Lena, who was more golden.

"Woah!" Brooke gasped as I skidded to a stop after my two laps. "That was like two minutes or something."

I shrugged, smiling a little smugly.

Lena clapped her hands together. "So, I'm going to show you our new routine, and you copy." She looked at me. "Do you understand?" She spoke slowly.

I nodded, with a sarcastic smile.

"MUSIC!"

I laughed at the irony as Amy turned on Shakira's "She Wolf" remix.

"5,6,7,8!" The cheerleading squad set off, dancing away with spins, punching the air with their pompoms, and leaping about all over the place.

Lena did a cartwheel down the centre, before they lifted her and Amy for the finale.

To be fair, the routine was okay. It just didn't flow as well as it could have done.

"Is it too difficult?" Amy sneered at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Just hit the music."

She raised an eyebrow and followed my instructions.

And just like that, the dance was in my head, with a few flips added into it.

"I... er... I... uh." Lena stared at me in disbelief.

"It's easy." I shrugged.

"Er..." She looked around. "Well the game is _this_ Friday.. and then there's a party at mine. Uh, see you there I guess."

"Aren't there any other rehearsals?"

She shook her head in disbelief. "I think you're sorted." She whipped her head around to face the rest of the squad. "Tomorrow, after school." Then she looked at Amy. "You're lifting. Rosie is taking your spot."

"WHAT?!" She shrieked, glaring at me. "But she's fat."

"Fat?" I scoffed, staring at her.

"You should think about running more laps." And with that, she took off, running out of the gym.

"You wanna come grab a smoothie?" Another girl, Kelly, asked me.

I shook my head. "Sorry, I've gotta head home."

I froze in the orange truck when I pulled up outside my house. A silver volvo was parked outside. And I could smell _them._

The bronze-haired male watched me carefully as I walked up to the door, and when I turned around, his car was out of sight.

"Charlie, I'm home!" I called, only to then realise he was sitting, watching Bella in the living room.

She shifted, nervously. "Hey, Rose."

"Did you do what you needed to?" I asked, careful not to mention any suicide attempts or vampires in the conversation.

She nodded. "Yeah. Everything's fine."

"EVERYTHING IS NOT FINE!" Charlie snapped at Bella. "YOU RUN AWAY TO VISIT EDWARD WITHOUT TELLING ME! AFTER EVERYTHING HE'S DONE!"

I recognised the emotion in Charlie's eyes. He wasn't angry at my cousin. He was worried. And to be honest, I was worried she'd go back into her zombie-state too.

"Charlie, I _had_ to! I'm sorry, it won't happen again!"

"Too right it won't!" He hissed. "You're having a curfew and that boy is never stepping through that door again!"

"Yes, dad." She replied, softly. "I'll go start on the dinner."

I automatically followed her once Charlie had slammed the frontdoor and left in his police cruiser. Maybe he was going to kill Edward or whatever the hell his name was.

"What happened?" I asked her, leaning against the counter.

"Er, I got there in time, but the crazy-ass vampires wanted to kill us anyway." She started chopping up some tomatoes. "They spared me."

"How come?"

"Lucky I guess." She shrugged, but I knew she was hiding something. Her eyes looked at my t-shirt. "Are you dating someone from the basketball team?"

"Um. No."

"You're a cheerleader! Oh my god, you're a cheerleader!" She gasped, pointing at me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Um.. yes."

"The only brunette cheerleader. The youngest cheerleader.." She leant back against the counter beside me. "The only werewolf cheerleader."

"I don't know.. I haven't exactly phased yet." I replied with a shrug.

"How's Jake?" Her eyes flickered with worry.

"I don't know." I sighed. "He's impossible to read at the best of times."

She nodded with understanding. "I know, I just wish he were older."

Their almost-kiss flashed back onto my mind, and I shook it out of my head. It made my heart squeeze ever so slightly.

"Is _he_ moving back to Forks?"

"Yes." She smiled slightly. "I can't live without him, Rose, and he can't live without me."

_Yeah, 'cause he wants your blood. _I had to swallow the vomit. "Okay."

"You'll like him. He's not like anyone else."

"Yeah, I bet."

* * *

"Hey, you're Rose right?" The perky little brunette pixie, who had been in my living room the other week, walked over to me with a grin on her face.

"Hi Alice." I replied in montone. I didn't really fancy being friends with vampires. Not now, not ever.

"Do you want to come sit with us?" She looked hopefully, nodding over to where Bella sat, waving at me.

"I'm only a sophomore." I said, hoping she'd drop it.

"And? Come on, it'll be fun!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the table before I could stop her.

Maria sat across the cafeteria with Jenny, giving me a confused look. I shrugged at her.

"You okay Rose?" Bella asked as I was shoved into the chair next to her.

"I think so. Am I being held hostage?"

"That's just Alice. She means well." Copper-haired vampire smiled at me, his white teeth glistening. "I'm Edward."

"I know." I replied with a forced smile, trying to make an effort for Bella.

"Hey mini Bella!" Someone said in my ear, making me shoot round to face them. A muscular guy with the hazel eyes and pale skin, smirked back at me, his hair so short his head was almost shaven.

"Emmett, don't scare her!" Alice scolded, glaring at him.

"Sorry." He apologised. "Bella knows what I'm like. You're Rose, right? Just like mine." He nodded at the pretty blonde who had sat herself beside Alice.

"Um, yeah." I replied, nervously.

"He's not that scary, don't worry." Bella whispered to me as he sat down opposite from me. "And that's Rosalie."

I smiled at the blonde, but she ignored me.

"Jasper, it's okay." Alice whispered, stroking the arm of the boy next to her. He had messy dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes, and he looked like someone had stabbed him.

"The smell." He hissed, under his breath, but I still heard him.

"She's a good one, though, she's Bella's cousin."

I frowned. Sure, they smelt too sugary for me, but at least I was swallowing my complaints with my pepperoni pizza.

I looked up and realised they were all staring at me. Fantastic. And had any other students realised the only people on the table eating were me and Bella?

Rosalie carved into a ripe red apple with her manicured nails, staring at its core. I shivered slightly.

"So, you're a cheerleader, right?" Alice asked me, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, as of Monday." I replied, forcing another smile.

"I've always wanted to be a cheerleader!"

"Surely that would be cheating?" Emmett smirked, staring at her.

Rosalie looked up. "We shouldn't be having this conversation."

"She knows, Rose." Edward replied, softly. "Laurent attacked her."

"Does she know she stinks like a dog?"

I glared at her. "Yes, I'm perfectly aware I smell like a wolf, thank you."

"She hasn't phased yet." Edward explained. "She's still waiting to."

I turned around and stared at him. "Look, I know you can read minds, but seriously, do you have to?!"

"I can't read yours." He said, looking confused. "You and Bella seem immune to it."

"Yeah, Rose, I just told him, that's all..." Bella trailed off, blushing as Edward wrapped his hand around hers. Ugh.

The bell rang and I jumped up. "Nice meeting you." Before hurrying away to class.

I slumped down in my desk, beside Maria, as my English teacher walked in, droning on about poetry.

"What was lunch?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A complete nightmare." I replied, simply.

"So, Bella's back with Cullen, huh?"

"Yes." I tried not to spit out the word.

"Huh..." She read my face. "You're annoyed about it?"

"Let's not talk about it." I turned my attention to the front of the class, wishing I could tell someone the truth. The Cullens were vampires.

* * *

I ran home. I was hot and I was annoyed. Edward was driving the truck, and no way in hell was I going to be with him more than I needed to.

I raced, cursing under my breath. If he fucked up, I was going to have a zombie, cliff-diving cousin again. Then I'd be back to being the rock in the household.

I stopped running and sniffed the air. I could smell one of _them._ Something whizzed past me. And again.

I looked around, my head following the red flame that seemed to be hurrying past me.

Then she stopped right in front of me and smiled, her bright red flying outwards, blowing in the wind.

Before I could do anything, shivers were shooting down my spine and my head ached. She watched with curiousity as I shook like a volcano ready to errupt.

Then she gasped as I exploded. Literally.

I seemed to be about ten times my usual size, and with a scream, the red-headed vampire was gone.

_Shit.. ROSE?!!_ Jacob's voice filled my head.

_What the hell?!_ I panicked. I could read his mind again, but this time I wasn't touching him.

I looked down and my feet and gasped. My favourite jeans and favourite red ballet pumps lay in pieces in front of me. But I wasn't naked.

I tried to scream, but a howl came out instead, as I realised my feet and hands were now huge furry paws with sharp claws at the end of them.

I had phased. I was a wolf.

_Rose, stay where you are, I'm on my way. _Jacob said, his voice sounding worried.

How was he going to find me anyway? I looked around. Where was I?

I had a rustle of leaves and I pounced as a russet wolf came charging towards me.

I stared down into his dark eyes, holding him there on the ground.

_Rose, it's just me! _Jacob said, fidgeting.

I let out a wolfy laugh when I realised I was strong enough to hold him there. _I know, Jake._

_Please, get off me. _His eyes softened and he whined like a puppy.

_How old are you? Six?_ I said, climbing off of him.

_Ha, funny. _He went to tackle me, but I dove out of the way. _Wow you're a fast learner._

_Cheerleader, remember? _I pushed him backwards and he yelped.

_Ugh, why is a girl stronger than me? _He put his puppy dog face on again.

_Jacob? Rose? _Sam's voice filled my head.

_Yes._ We replied at the same time.

_Jacob, get Rose here now._ He commanded. _I'll find her some of Emily's clothes._

_After you. _Jake smiled crookedly.

I rolled my eyes and raced off in the direction of La Push.

When we reached Sam's house, he hurried outside, wearing just his jeans. I recognised Embry, Jared and Paul, from before, who were following him out, staring at me with wide eyes.

"I've never seen a tortoise-shell dog before." Paul smirked, staring at me.

I growled back and everyone laughed. Clearly, I must've had a mixture of white, black and russet fur.

"Rose, you need to phase back." Sam told me. "Do you think you can do that?"

Immediately the boys started wolf-whistling and high-fiving each other.

Jacob growled at them before turning to face me. _Just try thinking human things. It helps me._

Sam threw me jeans and a cami, which i caught in my mouth. "You can go in the woods for some privacy."

"What's the use in having a girl in the pack if-"

"Do not finish that sentence, Embry." Sam glared.

I scampered into the woods, behind some bushes, so that no one could see me. I knew Jacob was a few feet away if I needed him, and I couldn't help feeling slightly perverted at the thought of him phasing back into a human.

_Rose, come on, you can do this. _His words comforted me.

I thought for a moment. What made me human anyway?

I thought of the vampires, and how I was different to them, but it only made me growl. I tried to think of Bella and Charlie. Of cheerleading. Why was nothing working?

Then I thought of my mother. As I laid there in our upside-down car. As she told me to take good care of myself. As she told me she loved me more than anything. As she took her last breath.

I suddenly shrunk. I looked down. I was human again, and I had tears in my eyes.

I put on the purple cami and the jeans, before whispering, "Jake, I'm back."

"Are you decent?" His voice sounded so close to me, and made my heart jump.

"Yes." I wiped away the tears that were filling my eyes and turned to face him. "I did it."

"I knew you could." His smile faded when his eyes met mine. "Are you crying?"

I looked down. "I thought of my mother, just before she died."

He wiped away an escaping tear and nodded. "Come on, I bet you need some food in you."

When we walked into Sam's house, the pack were devouring some pizza and muffins.

"You okay, Rose?" Sam asked me, his voice full of concern.

I nodded. "Yes, thanks Sam."

A beautiful woman walked over carrying another tray of pizza. "I made sure there was some left for you two." She smiled, a lop-sided smile; despite the huge scar down her face, she was still beautiful, and Sam looked at her with more love than I'd ever seen before.

"That's Sam's fiance, Emily." Jacob whispered to me.

I nodded and smiled at her. "Thank you."

"No problem. It'll be nice to have another girl around here. I'm Emily."

"Rose." I grabbed a slice of pizza and gasped as Jacob joined in the fight for food.

The boys seemed to have endless stomachs, gobbling up every little crumb.

"There's more in the kitchen if you want some." Emily whispered to me, laughing softly.

"It's like being at a zoo."

"You get used to it after a while." She smiled. "So I hear it's all Jacob's fault you're here."

"He saved me from being eaten by a vampire, and then by giving me some blood. He's like superman."

"Superman didn't have abs like this!" Jacob spoke, his mouth full.

"Your manors are gross." I shot back, stretching.

I looked around the room and realised Embry was staring at me, the topping falling off his pizza into Jared's mouth. It was quite comical to watch.

Emily also seemed to be watching, laughing softly. "Welcome to the family, Rose."


	9. Passion

_So,I went to see Loose Women being filmed.... yesss!_

_Asked Coleen where she got her top from (Oasis) and Carol took the mick out of the letter we wrote them because we're contradicts apparently! And then we met Phillip Schofield (This Morning/Dancing on Ice presenter)... he is sooo sweet!_

_And forgot to mention earlier, but an animation I helped make (HAPPY CLOUD) won a "First Light Movie Award" in London last Tuesday.. we saw Bill Nighy, Sir Ian Mckellen, James Corden, Nick Frost, Nicholas Hoult, Gemma Arteton and Georgia Groome.. how cool is that?!_

_Short, but more coming soon!_

_------------------xx----------------------------xx----------------------_

I tied back my curly hair into a ponytail and put on a little more mascara, before straightening out my cheerleading dress. Perfect.

Kelly stood there drawing little blue stars on my cheeks, matching the other girls.

"There are sooo many people out there." Amy said, looking like she was going to pass out.

"It's the players they'll be watching." I told her, trying to reassure her.

"No, they'll be watching _you _and if you mess up, you're back where you belong." She hissed, before storming off.

"Wow, so much for teamwork." Kelly laughed, nervously. She handed me a yellow ribbon. "Here, it'll brighten your hair up."

I noticed the rest of them either had white or blue ribbons, because obviously yellow would not stand out in their hair. "Thanks."

"Are you nervous?"

I nodded. "I haven't danced in front of an audience since I was a kid."

"It'll be okay." She smiled. "Just make sure you ignore Lena. If anyone messes up, it's never her fault, so just keep a distance."

"Thanks for the heads up."

"GIRLS! WE GOTTA GO!" Lena yelled from the otherside of the changing room.

I grabbed my pompoms and found my place in the line as our song started up.

I ignored the fact that I could see Alice sitting with Bella, jumping up and down cheering. Bella sat there, laughing, but Alice was really getting into it.

I couldn't look the other way either, as Jake was with Embry, and from the corner of my eye, I realised they were staring at me.

I took a deep breath as it came to the part in the routine where I had to do my somersaults. Lena was going one way, and I was going the other. I noticed she almost smiled at me as she passed.

Then, just like that. It was over. Lena and I were lifted in the air, punching the sky, and everyone was cheering.

Kelly, Brooke and Rihanna slowly set me down on my feet and we all rushed to the side, shaking our pompoms; no, I am not being metaphorical, perverts.

Being a cheerleader wasn't hugely exciting. Basically, we danced at the beginning of the game, and then had a little rave everytime our team scored. Oh, and we had to watch Lena making "call me" signs at the basketball team.

"You did good today." Kelly whispered to me with a smile.

"Thanks, so did you." I smiled back.

She grinned as if I'd just given her an oscar, and I got the impression she wasn't told that very much.

"We have just thirty seconds left of the game to go, with Forks Spartans in the lead." The commentator said. "Can the Washington Wildcats catch up?"

I watched as Lee, our star player, raced up the court, dribbling the ball. He stood there for a moment, blocking the other team. Then he winked at me and smiled, before jumping on the hoop, scoring our final basket of the game.

The buzzer went off and the crowd errupted with applause and cheering.

"GO SPARTANS GO!" Our squad cheered, jumping up and down, waving our pom poms in the air.

"You picked a good game." Kelly told me, grinning.

"Time to party!" Lena cheered, as she ran over to the basketball players.

"Nice game." Lee said, smiling at me.

I looked away, blushing as he ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "You're the player, not me."

"I dunno about that." He winked and disappeared off to the showers.

"Wow, you were amazing, Rosie!" Alice cheered, practically jumping on me.

I detached myself from the cold vampire and stared at her in disbelief, forcing a smile on my face when Bella appeared beside her. "Er.. thanks."

"You need a ride to the party?" Bella asked me.

"Oh, are you going?" I asked, confused.

"I'm not really a party person, but if you need someone-"

"We'll go." Jacob said, walking over with Embry, their smiles fading when they spotted Alice. "I've got the rabbit, so I can give Rose a ride home when she gets bored."

"Thanks Jake." Bella smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Bye, Rosie!" Alice chimed before disappearing into the crowd with my cousin.

"Er... I've gotta go get changed." I told Jake, before hurrying off to the changing rooms to have a shower.

"He was cute." Kelly told me as I dried my hair.

"Sorry?" I fixed my underwear under my towell, before removing it.

"That guy you were talking to. The tall one. He's from the reservation, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded with a smile.

"He likes you.. well they both seemed to." She laughed softly.

"I..er..you.. er... no." I choked out, throwing on my favourite skinny jeans.

"Which one do you like then?" She winked.

"You won't tell anyone?"

She shook her head. "I haven't really got anyone to trust on this squad."

"Okay, the tall one, Jacob. I've known him since we were kids, but he has this weird thing going on with my cousin."

"Isn't she dating that Cullen guy?"

"Exactly. I don't understand her sometimes." I sighed.

"Don't worry, we can make him yours." She smiled, eyeing my mark on my lower back. "That's a cool tattoo you've got."

"Thanks."

She threw me a white low-cut cami. "Here. It'll look great on you. I brought it 'cause I wasn't sure what to wear, but with that tan you've got, you'll look hot."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded with a smile. "Sure. It'll look great with your red shrug and your shoes."

"Thank you so much!" I put on the top and smiled. Not too much cleavage, but enough to look sophisticated sexy. I put on my shrug, and tied it, before putting on my favourite necklace, which had a small gold wolf charm and a moon. My mother had given it to me before she had died, and now it seemed ironic.

"No problem." Kelly put on a pink top and buttoned her jeans. "I'm glad you joined the squad."

"ROSE!" Jenny squealed, running into the changing rooms.

I laughed as she squeezed the air out of me.

Maria frowned. "Jenny, do you mind? I'd rather take her to the party, alive, thank you."

Kelly smiled, awkwardly beside me.

"Guys, this is Kelly. Kelly, this is Maria and Jenny." I smiled.

"Oh, you're in my English class." Jenny smiled at her. "I loved that dress you wore the other day... the blue one?"

"Oh, thanks." Kelly smiled a genuine smile.

"Do you need a ride?"

"Really? Are you sure?"

Jenny linked arms with her. "Sure, why not?!"

Maria looked at me. "There's a really hot boy waiting outside for you.. no, wait, there were two..."

I bit my lip. "Er, Jake is enough to handle thank you."

"Still worried about the Bella situ?"

I nodded. "Let's just go, yeah? I'm getting a ride with him and Embry so I'll see you there?"

Maria nodded. "Let's go girls." Then she whispered to me. "You look hot, work it baby."

I could've sworn that Embry's eyes nearly fell out of his head as I walked outside, my gym bag over my shoulder. Jacob smacked the back of his head and smiled at me.

"You ready to go?"

I ran a hand through my auburn curly hair and smiled. "I sure am."

I noticed Jacob's eyes wandering my body as I jumped into the backseat, only to be joined by Embry.

"Hey, She Wolf." He winked at me.

Jacob narrowed his eyes at him in the wing mirror.

"What, she's not genetically my sister." Embry stuck his tongue out at his non-genetic brother.

I laughed softly. "So, you couldn't help wanting to go to a party with cheerleaders, huh?"

"It was his idea." He pointed at Jake.

"Oh, really, Mr Black?" I teased, biting my lip.

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought it'd be fun."

"It's nice there's a world beyond your garage." Embry smirked. "And like I was gonna miss out on some action."

I rolled my eyes. "Pervert."

"Fine, I won't tell you how hot you look tonight then." He turned to face me. "You know, I still haven't seen your tattoo..."

The rabbit swerved and Embry cursed under his breath.

"Ha, you should be so lucky." I winked at him, knowing Jake was watching in the wing mirror.

"Luck's on my side." He whispered to me, his hand lightly touching mine.

_She's so pretty. If Jake's not going for her, I sure am._

I blushed and looked down, taking my hand away as Jake slammed on the breaks, parking in the driveway of Lena's mansion.

* * *

The house was full of cheerleaders, the basketball team and other students, even a few from the opposition. Though, as Forks wasn't the biggest of towns and some students hadn't turned up, there was still enough space to walk around people, and for the waitresses to move about.

"Oh, Rosie, you brought company!" Lena embraced me, tightly, eyeballing the boys as she pulled away.

"Well, we couldn't let her come to a place like this alone." Jake replied, with a fake smile.

"Well if you two need anything, just come and find me." She winked, before disappearing.

"In your wildest dreams." Jake muttered under his breath.

"Can I get you a drink?" Embry turned to me, a smile playing on his lips.

"Sure." Jake nodded.

Embry punched him in the arm. "Do you have to be such an idiot?"

"I'd love one." I laughed. Embry nodded and walked off, leaving me with Jake.

I ran a hand through my curly hair, so that my fringe was out of my eyes.

"You haven't you know.."

"Phased?" I asked and he nodded. "Nu-uh. Not since the other day."

"Good." He smiled slightly.

"Jake," I frowned, "why are you so bothered about this? It's not like I'm one of _them_ or anything."

"I wouldn't have picked this. If I'd had a choice, I'd have been a normal teenager." He replied with a sigh. "I just wish you hadn't been put in this situation."

"Jake, honestly it's fine."

"No it's not, Rose." He put his hands on my arms and looked me straight in the eyes. "Until you decide to step down from the pack, you are stuck imortally sixteen. Sure, your body will mature, but you won't be any older. You'll have to deal with stupid bloodsuckers and the super-human abilities. You'll have to deal with an imprint, dropping everything for this one person that'll mean the world to you. You might not be able to control your phasing. It's dangerous."

_Shit, I hate myself for doing this. I care about her too much sometimes, I swear. _His eyes softened and I suddenly realised how close I was to him.

"Jake," I whispered, leaning a little towards him "I've always wanted to make a difference, and this way I can. I feel like I have a proper family again for the first time since my mom died."

"Hey, I got you a lemonade!" Embry appeared beside me with a grin on his face.

Jake automatically jumped back, letting go of me and looking at the floor, causing Embry to eye us suspiciously.

"Thanks." I smiled, taking the cup from him.

"Er, what did I miss?"

"Nothing." Jake faked a smile. "Just talking about pack duties."

"Oh right.." He said, not seeming to believe it.

I gulped down my drink and set it down as the music was turned up.

"I'm just gonna get some air. Be back in a sec." Jake excused himself, walking towards the backdoor.

"What's up with him?" Embry asked me, frowning.

"He feels bad, about the whole making-me-a-wolf thing." I replied with a shrug. "It really doesn't bother me, so I don't see why he beats himself up about it."

"I guess it's 'cause it's embarassing, ya know?" He smiled a crooked-smile at me. "Anyone can hear your thoughts and if you don't have clothes, they all see you naked. It wasn't so bad, but I guess now, it's just extra bad for you."

I nodded. "I'm gonna have to remember that one."

Embry smirked, and without listening to his thoughts, I knew what he was thinking.

I noticed a twinkle in his eye and then he smiled properly again. "Do you.. wanna dance? You don't have to but-"

I put a finger on his lips. "I'll dance with you if you don't go off on a rant."

He laughed softly, putting his hands on my waist. I put my arms on his shoulders, loosely and we danced in time to the music.

Sure, he wasn't Jacob Black, but he was still absolutely gorgeous, no doubt about it. He had a perfect smile, with perfect white teeth shining against his russet skin. His black hair was fairly short, but he still had enough to look handsome, instead of just being a skinhead.

His brown eyes seem to look at me as if they were searching my soul, and I had to keep myself from shivering.

Then it all seemed to happen so fast, yet so slowly.

Embry leant towards me and kissed me. Just a slight skim of the lips and enough to make me quiver.

_Woah._

I smiled slightly, and he did too, before kissing me again. He deepened it slightly, moving one hand to cup my face. Then he loosened up and looked me over, smiling.

Then in the corner of my eye, I watched as Jacob Black's body shook, before making a fast exit.


	10. Power

_Another update... I'm so good to you... _

_So I deserve a real nice review._

_Just a quick post and I'll love you the most._

_P.S apologies for messing up a sentence in the last chapter- I've sorted it!_

_----------------------xx---------------------------------------xx---------------------_

I couldn't believe Embry and I had just kissed. And I'd really liked it. And now Jacob's clothes were scattered across Lena's back garden.

"I'll go check on him." Embry said, kissing my cheek. "I won't be long."

He scooped up Jake's clothes and hurried into the woods at the back of the garden.

"What are you doing out here?" Maria asked, walking over to join me on the decking.

"Long story." I sighed.

Maria sat down on the edge of the hot tub and put her feet in it; yes who has a hot tub in rainy Forks?! "I have time. This party is lacking action right now." She patted the empty space beside her.

I sat beside her and slipped off my shoes. I rolled my jeans up and put my feet in the hot tub too.

"Embry kissed me." I told her, feeling a blush in my cheeks.

"Wait, which one is Embry?! Is he the shorter one that's still abnormally tall?"

"Yup." I popped the 'p'.

Maria laughed. "But I thought you liked Jacob! Man you're one confusing chick!"

"I thought I did too." I frowned. "But he never pays me attention, and then you add Bella to the mix.. and well... kissing Embry felt really good."

"Let's keep this PG-13 please." She raised an eyebrow. "Think about it, do you like Embry?"

"I... I think so."

"Okay, so date Embry then. It's not like Jacob is doing anything about it, right? If you like Embry, you'll be over Jacob in no time." She looked around. "Did those two ditch you here?"

I shook my head. "Jake legged it after Embry kissed me. Now Embry is trying to find him."

Maria frowned. "Okay, you are _so_ dating Embry. Jacob has serious issues he needs to deal with, and I am not letting you be more than friends with him unless he sorts them out."

I laughed, softly. "Fine, but right now I am just gonna wait for them to come back and see what happens. You can go back inside if you want."

"Nu-uh." She leant back as if she were sunbathing, even though it was dark. "I am staying here until cutie and idiot return."

It wasn't long before we could see the silhouettes of the boys approaching from the woods.

"I'd better leave you to it. Call me tomorrow?" Maria stood up.

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah, thanks."

"Well... good luck." She disappeared back inside the party.

"Okay, what the hell Jake?!" I snapped, staring up at him.

"I'm taking you home." He mumbled as I took my feet out of the hot tub and rolled my jeans back down. He headed off towards the front of the house, where the car was parked.

I hovered behind with Embry. "Erm.. what happened?"

"He's just being an idiot, that's all. Apparently it's not healthy to have a couple in the pack." He rolled his eyes.

"Ohh." I had no idea what else to say. I just stared uncomfortably at the ground. We reached the car, where Jacob sat gripping the steering wheel. "Look, Jacob, I can walk if you have such a big problem with me."

"I told Bella I would take you home, so get in the damn car." Jacob said, angrily.

"I think I'm gonna run home.." Embry said, slightly annoyed. He looked at me and smiled. "Come to Emilys tomorrow?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sure."

And with that, he disappeared into the darkness.

The drive home was long, silent and tense. I didn't see why he was suddenly taking the anger out on me and Embry. We had done nothing wrong. We were both single teenagers, afterall.

"Bye Jacob." I mumbled, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut.

I didn't look back as I made my way into the house. I closed the front door and sighed, walking up the stairs. Charlie was already snoring loudly, even though it was just past midnight.

The light crept under my cousin's door, so I walked in, freezing to find Edward perched beside her on her bed.

"Yeah... well.. I'm home." I said to her, trying to pretend I was tired. "Isn't he banned from the house?" I nodded at the vampire.

He smirked. "Technically Charlie said I couldn't step through the door again... so I used the window."

"Yeah, I bet." I mumbled.

Bella patted the empty space beside her and Edward shifted over. "Sit."

"But-"

"Rose, please just sit."

I did as she said, ignoring the fact that Edward was sitting the other side of her. He let go of her hand and smiled at me.

"What's up?" I asked Bella.

"You tell me." She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not stupid, and your facial expression doesn't give away why you're annoyed."

"Embry kissed me." I blurted out, remembering she knew who Embry was. I blushed.

"Wow." She laughed. "I didn't see that one coming." She looked at Edward. "Did you?"

"Not at all." He replied, his face serious.

"It's not funny." I pouted.

"Do you like him?"

"No.. yes... well.. I don't know!" I looked down, awkwardly. "Jacob saw and he stormed off. And now he's super-pissed at me."

Edward's lips turned up into a smile this time.

"What do you know that I don't?" I asked him with a glare.

"Absolutely nothing." He smiled, baring his teeth. "I just find Jacob Black very amusing."

I rolled my eyes. "Well anyway, apparently couples aren't allowed in the pack."

Bella's eyes widened. "So you and Embry are dating now?"

"Ugh, I don't know." I stood up and frowned. "I feel angry, so shouldn't I be shaking right now?"

"Maybe you're just in control." Edward said, his smile fading again.

"Whatever. I'm going to bed." I looked at Bella and then back at Edward. "Please, don't do stuff."

I closed the door and walked to my bedroom nextdoor. I collapsed on my bed and sighed. Why did everything have to be so confusing all of a sudden?

* * *

I tied back my hair into a messy ponytail and headed downstairs in my pyjama boxers and tank top to get some breakfast.

I froze when I found Embry standing in my kitchen, cooking some bacon.

"Good morning." He smiled, sweetly, and for a moment I almost forgot what I was wearing.

I blushed and put my arms around myself. "What are you doing here?"

"Bella let me in before she left with the bloodsucker. Charlie's at work." He stretched. "And I thought I'd make you and me some breakfast before I take you to Emily's house."

"Erm.. be right back, I'm gonna have a shower." I retreated back up the stairs and grabbed my mobile and some clothes before shutting myself in the bathroom.

I quickly texted Maria.

_Was about to call you, but went downstairs in my PJs and found Embry cooking me breakfast. Going out later, so will call you later. Rose x p.s no he did not stay over!_

I'll admit I was totally paranoid about Embry being in the house whilst I was showering naked. At least it made me wash myself quicker than usual, instead of standing in the shower just enjoying the sensation of the warmth on my skin. I couldn't really do that anymore anyway, as my feel of temperature hardly worked.

I put on my skinny jeans, a blue cami and a brown cardigan before drying my hair with a towel. My phone beeped.

_Who said I was thinking that? Okay, I totally was. But oooer, get in there and call with the dets later! M x_

I laughed and headed downstairs, where Embry was putting the bacon into rolls, and adding ketchup.

My stomach growled and he laughed. "You look a little more awake now."

"Ha, what do you expect when you're in my house before ten?!" I stuck out my tongue and grabbed a plate, eating the roll.

"And Emily thinks us guys eat like animals." He smirked, before taking a bite out of his bacon roll.

"It's not my fault I'm a wolf." I stuck my tongue out once I'd finished, and Embry laughed.

"I'm actually pretty glad you are one." He grabbed my plate and put it in the washing up bowl.

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "For one thing, there's more of us, and for another, I think it's good to have a girl... a different perspective of things."

"At least someone's glad I'm around." I sighed.

He turned to face me and walked towards me. He lifted my chin with his finger so that I was looking into his eyes.

He sighed. "Ignore Jacob, please?" His eyes softened like a puppy dog. "He's just being an ass."

I laughed softly and his mouth turned upwards into a smile again.

Then he slowly leant towards me, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. He gently placed his hands on my waist as I kissed him back.

It was weird. When I was kissing Embry, I just forgot about Jake and all the pain seemed to go away. Maybe I was actually getting over Jake.

Embry pulled away and rested his forehead on mine, as his smile reappeared. "As much as I'd love to stand here and do this all day, we'd better head to Emily's."

"How are we getting there?" I asked, putting on my favourite boots and writing a quick note to Bella and Charlie, telling them of my whereabouts.

"We're running of course." He took my hand, but I pulled it away, making him frown.

"I'll race you!" And with that I grabbed the keys and shot out of the door.

* * *

I arrived at Emily's, running straight into a topless Jared.

"I would say 'watch it', but that didn't really hurt." Jared smirked.

"Sorry." I said to him, laughing as Embry came into view. "I KICKED YOUR ASS!"

"You totally cheated!" He threw his hands up in the air.

"Embry losing at games, again?!" Paul gasped, mockingly, as he stepped outside, closely followed by Jacob, who was frowning.

"I never lose at games!"

"Honey, you just did." I winked at him, as Sam stepped outside, laughing.

"Rose, it's nice to see you catching on so fast." He smiled.

I shrugged. "Apparently I'm a fast learner."

"Good." He nodded. "Now, let's all head inside and have this meeting, shall we?"

We all sat in Sam's living room whilst Emily was cooking in the kitchen.

Jared, Paul and Jacob were hogging the sofa, leaving me to share a squishy armchair with Embry. Unless Jacob had told them, I got the impression no one had heard about the party yet.

Sam looked at us all as he paced back and forth. "As some of you know, we've found another scent."

"Yeah, it's that red-head leech!" Paul added with a growl.

"Thank you, Paul." Sam nodded before continuing. "Anyway, we've found out who she's after and why she keeps returning."

"She wants Bella." Jacob growled under his breath.

I gasped and everyone turned to face me.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Sam asked, looking concerned.

"She's the reason why I phased." I told them, pretty sure my face was turning pale. "She was there, and then I just exploded."

"And you didn't tell us before?!" Paul snarled.

Embry growled at him. "How was she supposed to know?! She's new to this thing, idiot!"

"Why are you sticking up for her all of a sudden?!"

"Because Embry kissed her." Jacob said in monotone.

Paul cracked up laughing and Embry growled as I hid my embarassed face behind my auburn curls.

"Nice one, man!" Jared patted Embry on the back, who was shaking.

"Embry, calm down." Sam warned him, his eyes wide, but Embry kept on shaking. "EMBRY!"

Embry gritted his teeth and my eyes widened. Was he really about to phase in Emily's living room. Everyone stood around him, cautiously.

"Rose, get back, now!" Sam commanded me, but I didn't listen.

I put my hand on Embry's arm, which was bare because he was wearing a tank top.

"Embry." I whispered, my eyes softening.

And with that, he slowly stopped shaking, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Okay, that was weird." Jared said, breaking the silence.

"Well done, Rose." Sam smiled, proudly.

I looked at him confused. "I didn't know that would work. All I did was touch him."

"You managed to soothe him, good job." He looked around at the pack. "Meeting over. Remember there's the bonfire tonight, and don't even mention Embry and Rose or you'll have me to deal with."

Everyone nodded and made their way out of the small house, followed by Sam.

"Thank you." Embry whispered, planting a kiss on my forehead.

I just stared at my hands, which were placed over Embry's mark, in disbelief. How had I managed to do that?

* * *

_It's time to pick a team. REMBRY or RACOB... take your pick._


	11. Magnetism

_Oooh a mix of REMBRY and RACOB lovers..._

_You wait till you see what I have planned... *insert evil laugh here*_

_Why is a raven like a writing desk?_

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Sitting around a bonfire with a pack of wolves, including myself, was actually pretty fun.

I got to watch Jared and Paul fight over the last hot dog, I managed to shove Embry over when he tried to swipe mine.

"Why do you have to have such good reflexes?" He had pouted as I gulped it down, before sticking out my tongue.

After listening to some of the old legends, it was official. I hated vampires. 'The cold ones' as they were called by the Elders. 'Bloodsuckers' and 'leeches' as they were referred to by my non-genetic brothers, and my sort-of-boyfriend.

Could I call Embry that?

I stared at him, and realised he'd be staring at me for the majority of the time. He smiled, his white teeth shining and his face glowing in the light of the bonfire.

Then my eyes widened as I looked into his, seeing something I hadn't realised before.

It was like a pull towards him. I didn't seem to be able to control it. But, suddenly, it was if we were the only two people there. He clearly felt it too, because his grin widened, parting a little, as if he were as suprised as I were.

What _was_ that?

"Look who just imprinted!" Paul yelled in a child-like sing-song voice.

Embry didn't pay attention. He was too busy looking at me, as if waiting for something to make me disappear any second. I couldn't break his gaze. I was held there.

"Paul, be quiet." Sam commanded. I was pretty sure he was staring at us. "Embry, Rose, with me please."

Immediately we broke the gaze and followed our pack leader. It was hard to resist Sam sometimes, even for this staring contest which was leaving me extremely confused.

We followed Sam into the house, where Emily was just getting some cakes out of the oven, ready to feed us all some more.

She raised an eyebrow at us. "What happened?"

"I... imprinted." Embry replied, his voice suggesting he wasn't really psychologically present.

Emily's eyes widened and she smiled. "Wow."

Sam turned around to face the two of us. "Do you understand what this means?"

No I did not. What was imprinting? Wasn't it that theory that said that when baby birds hatched, they thought the first thing they saw was their mother?

It sounded weird to me. Especially after only bonding with Embry properly for what? 24 hours?

"Yes." Embry nodded, before shooting a smile at me.

"Okay, well can someone explain to me, please?" My forehead was creasing with confusion, and my mom had always said this would give me early wrinkles. Not that it mattered, as, until I stepped down as a wolf, I was going to be immortal anyway.

"Rose, we have been known to imprint for years now." Sam paced slightly as he explained to me. "I have imprinted on Emily, for example." She smiled, stacking the muffins onto another tray. "When we imprint, we aim to protect the imprintee. They become our everything, and us theirs, whether it is a protector, a brother or their love, and it hurts to be apart for too long. It's like you're two magnets bound together."

"Like love at first sight." Embry added with a smile, his eyes watching my every move.

"Yes, only a stronger force. Though, usually, it is at first sight. I've never read about this kind of imprint before." He paused and looked at us both. "Embry must have seen you in a different light of some sort... anyway, I just want you to be careful. The pack will not want to hear constant thoughts about this, and it must not affect your roles as protectors, understand?"

We both nodded in unison, Embry still watching me.

"Okay." Sam smiled. "Now, if you excuse me." He stepped back out of the house as Embry stepped towards me.

"Well that's a lot to take in." I sighed.

Embry took my hand in his. "If you need time, it's fine. I'll be whoever you want me to be."

I couldn't believe that someone would do that for me. Then again, we were like magnets now, apparently.

I half-smiled at him. "Thanks. You go out and enjoy the bonfire. I'll be out soon."

He nodded and lightly kissed my forehead, before leaving the house.

Firstly, my mom had died, so I was technically an orphan. Secondly, I was shipped to another state to live with my uncle and my cousin. Thirdly, my cousin was dating a vampire, even though he broke her heart the first time.

Fourthly, a vampire had tried to kill me, so Jacob Black had given me his blood. Fifthly, I was a werewolf AND a cheerleader. Sixthly, another werewolf from my pack had just imprinted on me.

Seventhly (can you even go that far?), I wasn't sure if I was over Jacob Black, despite the fact that gravity was pulling me towards Embry.

My brain hurt and I fell back on the sofa, as the information all sunk in. I was a freak.

Either that, or this world was just downright insane.

"Rose, are you okay?" Emily whispered, walking into the room, a polite smile on her face.

"Yeah, just trying to take it all in, you know?" I replied, also in a whisper.

"Want to talk?"

I nodded and she sat on the sofa beside me. For once, I just wanted to speak to someone who understood it. I'd seen in Sam's head that Emily had been through an awful lot, just like me. And unlike Bella, she actually understood the werewolf-thing and the imprinting process.

"It's hard, Em." I sighed.

"I know." She replied, her voice soft and comforting in its own ways. "But it does get easier, I'm proof of it."

"How do you manage? I feel like every bad story, every childhood bad dream has just come true."

"Well there are positives and negatives to this life. For one, Embry is going to love you so much and he always will. He'll wipe your tears when you cry, probably hurt whoever makes you cry." She laughed softly at this point. "But even though your friends and family are around you, no one will love you more." She smiled. "And of course, he won't pressure you into anything you don't want. If you just want a friend, that's what he'll be to you."

"What are the negatives?" My voice sounded almost croaky, from holding the tears deep inside me.

Emily ran her finger along her scar. "It can be dangerous, but you're less likely to have that problem. you see, Rose, Sam did this to me. We had a petty argument and he flipped, not able to control himself. He was a young werewolf, and that itself can be dangerous." She smiled her lopsided smile. "Accidents happen, but you must not live each day reminding yourself of them."

I felt enlightened talking to her. She could be so positive about everyone, and past the scar, she was still beautiful. I had seen Sam look sad and guilty when he looked at her, but the rest of the time, it was replaced by the strongest love I'd ever seen.

"Thanks, Emily." I smiled, clearing my throat so that I sounded normal again.

"Come on, I'll bet Embry saved you some marshmallows." She pulled me up and we walked outside together.

I sat with the warmth of the bonfire lighting my face. Despite not being able to feel the cold, I could still feel the burning sensation on my skin.

Embry had saved me a few marshmallows, and I got the impression that he wouldn't have if he hadn't imprinted on me earlier.

The loving look he gave me was making my heart flutter like a hummingbird's wings, and I was glad he was sitting to my right, so he couldn't feel it.

"Eeek!" I shrieked as my marshmallow caught fire.

Embry laughed as the other boy's winced.

"One bad thing about a girl in the pack: too many loud noises." Jared groaned, holding his ears.

Embry grabbed my stick and blew on the end of it, until my final marshmallow was no longer burning up.

"Thanks." I smiled, grabbing it off the end and popping it in my mouth.

We sat around and spoke, as the boys begun telling stupid ghost stories, that no longer scared me after facing vampires.

Then, slowly, everything around me turned to darkness.

I woke up again when I felt my back land on what I assumed was a mattress. I didn't open my eyes though.

"What did you do to her?" It was Bella, sounding a little worried.

"She's just tired from all the legends." Embry's voice whispered back. "It's been a busy day."

I felt the covers cover my body.

"He imprinted." That was Edward, in his boring voice.

"What?" Bella gasped, which would have woken me up if I hadn't been awake.

"It's fascinating, how the wolves live. They imprint on someone, forming the strongest bond I've ever seen. Almost as strong as ours." I assumed he was staring at Bella with his cold eyes when he said that, and right now, she was probably blushing.

"Well Rose is like my sister, and if you ever hurt her-"

"You'll have us to answer to." Edward's voice was cold and deadly, and I tried not to shiver; why was he sticking up for me anyway?

"I would never hurt her." Embry whispered softly. "And if anyone hurts her, they'll have me to answer to."

"You'd better leave before Charlie is back from Billys." Bella told him, her voice stern.

I listened as two people left the room, most likely Bella and Edward.

"Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the leeches bite." Embry whispered before gently kissing my forehead.

And then, I drifted back into a deep slumber.

* * *

I was surprised to see Maria's van pull up outside my house that Monday morning before school. I'd just finished my breakfast, and was waiting around for Bella to get ready when the doorbell rung and I spotted her van at the end of the driveway.

I opened the door. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You never called me."

"Oh crap, sorry, I got in late on Saturday night and slept until noon yesterday. Then I had homework to do." That was a lie; I'd been on my first patrol yesterday, but with Paul, as I was not trusted to be paired with Embry.

"Mhmm." She didn't sound convinced. "Hop in, and I want all the details on the ride to school."

"All of them?"

"We have plenty of time, I can drive slow." She smiled, almost wickedly.

So, I explained everything about the party and the weekend I had spent with the guys, leaving out two small details; I was in a wolf pack with my boyfriend and he had imprinted on me.

Not a big deal, right?

"So, that's that.." I finished my story as we turned into the Forks High carpark, where Lena and some of the cheerleaders were just hopping out of her convertible.

"Well, it sounds like he really likes you." She smiled, turning off the engine.

We both jumped out of the van and closed the doors. I walked round to meet Maria as she locked up.

"I think so too." I smiled. Well technically I _knew_ so.

"Hey, Rosie, where did you get to at my party?" Lena asked when I walked past, as the other girls giggled.

"I didn't feel too good." I lied, hoping they would drop it.

"I saw you kissing some guy from the reservation." Brooke smiled angelically at me.

"And then you left with two of them." Amy continued.

"They're just friends."

Amy stepped in front of me. "Liar."

"Piss off cheerios." Maria hissed at them as Lena walked towards me.

The head of the squad smiled. "You make us look really good Rosie, but I don't have liars on my squad. Care to own up?"

"Fine, here's my boyfriend. The one I kissed, not both of them." I sighed. "The other is just a friend, okay?"

"Could you... set us up?" One of the girls, Beth, smiled.

"I don't know, we're not talking right now." I mumbled.

"Don't forget practice tomorrow!" Lena called after me as I walked off. "There's a game next week!"

"Are you PMS-ing?" Maria asked me as we quickly walked out of the rain and into the corridor.

"No." I rolled my eyes. "It's raining.. shouldn't they be melting?"

She smirked. "You tell me, cheerio."

The day was really dragging on, to the point I thought I would go insane. I spent lunchtime sitting with Maria, Jenny, Jack, Chad, Alex and our newest edition, Kelly.

I sat there, doing the only homework I had been set all day, knowing that I wasn't going to be given any in gym last period.

"Why are you doing your homework in freetime?" Chad asked me, raising an eyebrow.

"I just have some stuff to do later." I shrugged, finishing my last equation.

"Don't see Embry too much or you'll get sick of him." Maria warned me.

"Who's Embry?" Jack asked, suddenly paying attention, instead of staring at Lena.

"My boyfriend." I replied, casually, shoving my finished work into my bag. "And, actually, I was planning on going and seeing Emily later."

"Who?" Jenny looked completely lost.

"A friend of mine from the reservation." I smiled.

"Well, don't forget us." Kelly winked as the bell rang. "See y'all tomorrow!"

* * *

"Hey, Em." I smiled, running into the living room to get out of the rain.

"You're so lucky you don't get cold.. you're soaked!" She threw me a cosy white towel before disappearing down the hallway. She came back a moment later, carrying jeans and a plum-coloured v-neck jumper.

"That was fast. Are you sure you're not a werewolf?" I asked her suspiciously.

She laughed softly. "Yeah, I think so. Shower's down the hall. Just drop your wet clothes in the dryer when you're done."

It was nice to be dry again, my hair just damp in auburn curls, floating down my back. Had it grown again? It looked like it.

"There, you look better already." Emily smiled. "Sam's on patrol with Jacob, so why don't we sit down and enjoy the peace and quiet?"

I nodded, sitting down on the sofa, crossing my legs and turning to face her. "So..."

"How was school today?"

"It was okay. Everyone's heard about my new boyfriend, and it seems to be topic of the day.. I wonder if Perez Hilton got hold of the details."

She laughed softly. "I bet Perez Hilton hasn't even heard of small-town Forks."

"Probably not." I spotted a pile of wedding magazines scattered on her coffee table. "So when are you and Sam getting married, then?"

"September." She smiled. "I keep thinking it's ages away, but really, it's creeping up on me, and I haven't made any plans."

"Well, I could help, if you want? Just so you have another girl's perspective on things." I offered.

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Sure I would. I know I haven't know you long, but I already feel like you're a sister to me." I smiled.

She squeezed me in a hug. "Thank you so much Rose! I feel the same. I wanted my cousin Leah to help me out, but she won't do it... you see, she was dating Sam before he imprinted on me, and the bond's impossible to break."

"I'm sorry Em." I apologised, seeing the hurt in her eyes.

"It's okay. She's always been bitter." She shrugged. "Anyway, let's crack open some of these magazines."

"Sure." I smiled, looking up at her.

I couldn't decide whether Emily was like an older sister or a new mother to me. Sadly, she seemed to be both, and it made my stomach twinge just thinking about it.


End file.
